


Danger Days: Before Infamy

by Rosasharn



Category: Bandom, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Danger Days Era, M/M, Nonbinary Show Pony (Danger Days), Pre-Killjoys (Danger Days)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:07:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 75,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25907839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosasharn/pseuds/Rosasharn
Summary: Everybody knows the tale of the fabulous Killjoys, but does anybody really know how they came to be in the first place?This is the story of Frank Iero and his friends in a post-apocalyptic desert that actively tries to kill them, and a girl who changes everything.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Fun Ghoul/Party Poison (Danger Days), Mikey Way & Pete Wentz
Comments: 13
Kudos: 11





	1. Sweat

Frank reached up to wipe the sweat off his brow with the sleeve on his right arm, a sigh escaping his lips when he realized how little the effort really did to soak up his sweat. He was standing on the outskirts of a scum-town within Zone 4, behind the metal shed of an extremely run down farm house. His eyes scanned each shadow in front of him meticulously, counting the things he could see that may possibly be suspicious. An overturned wheelbarrow. The tire at the very edge of his vision. The creaky door to his left that slowly swung open an inch then closed again. The rusty earth that had turned grey in a few spots. Okay, so maybe he was a bit paranoid, but that was just about equivalent to survival in the zones. If the heat and acid rain didn’t kill you, the Draculoids and Scarecrows sure as hell would.

Once he had decided that the prospect of food here outweighed the risk that God forbidden wheelbarrow posed, he stood up slowly and raised his blaster. The hot metal of his green gun definitely did not feel good in his hand, but the pain was nothing new. He had gotten blisters the first week or so, before practically his whole hand had calloused over. He still felt the heat (he felt it alright), but it wasn’t nearly as bad anymore, especially not now that he had been dealing with it for years.

In all honesty though, Frank considered himself very lucky to have snagged the green blaster. Not everyone had colored ones; he had the Dracs to thank for his. After a herd of maybe two hundred had found the Witches Hat, one of his favorite hide outs back then, and ghosted almost the entirety of the teens there, Frank found himself one of the very few still alive. With his first group dead, he started his lone journey by scouring the countless dead for their possessions and letting out an excited yelp when he discovered the beauty that was his green blaster beneath a girl’s arm.

He was now still just as alone, having decided that maybe his best decision ever was going solo. He didn’t have to worry about anyone else and how to protect them, he didn’t have to find any extra food, and he never really felt bad when he did things that could be considered immoral, because well, who was there to see it? There were still downsides of course, one of which he was facing currently and slightly cursing himself for as he did multiple times a day. No one was there to watch his back. No, he had to do that himself, and it’s not easy to watch your own back. I mean you can’t even see it.

With his own back pressed firmly up against the shed he had been hiding behind, he shuffled around and into the scum-town. As he moved to take a step forward, he shifted his weight away from the shed and moved his foot out. Almost instantly the shit-show of metal behind him decided that it didn’t want to be alone either. His back had shifted the way the sheets were positioned and now as he moved away, the whole thing plummeted to the ground. Frank leapt forward in surprise and stared at the cracking, banging pile of rubbish collapsed to the ground. His gun hung loosely in his hand, now swinging by his side, and he let out a loud groan. Because fuck it all, the damn thing had made so much noise anyways, why bother being quiet? If anything was here, it knew he was there as well. 

He flung his hand up and pulled it across his face. Why couldn’t he do one thing right? All the time he’d been out here in the zones he had found that he really was not good at doing things. Anything, really. Except maybe shooting, he was fairly decent at that and was sure that that was the only thing that had kept him alive to this point.

He looked around slowly, but nothing seemed to be coming out of the shadows to each him alive, so he figured he was probably alone. Well, good. Maybe he’d get lucky and find something actually useful for once. He doubted that though really, the place looked to be picked clean. He couldn’t have been the first person to find it. More likely, he was probably the last to find it. He stepped forward again and made his way through the yard of a once nice farm house, now a dump. He passed a small white sign with the words “reclaimed by BL/Ind” stamped in black lettering on it, and kicked it for good measure. ‘To hell with it’ he thought before lifting his blaster and aiming it right at the sign, a sly grin crossing his face. He left the sign with a hole in the middle, dripping its words. What he didn’t know was that there was one of them every five feet here, and when he figured that out he let out another sigh. Why was one never enough? No scratch that, why couldn’t those bastards just stay in Battery City?

Frank walked around until he found the door to the house he had had his eye on since arriving at this place. He stood out in front a house that was covered in green moss and smelled of decay, but to him, it was a gold mine. A treasure from above- and that was all thanks to the well sat right beside the rotten wood porch. Water. Or as he liked to call it ‘I’m living another day’ because what’s more rare in the desert than water? He slid the bag on his shoulder down and grabbed one of the glass jars he kept in there. He walked up to the small well with wide eyes, before reaching down and touching the water inside with his finger tips. There wasn’t much left, he had to lean over the side to dip his jar in and fill it, but god damn it was enough. He was so dehydrated just the sight of the water made him wanna drown himself.

The minuted he had pulled the jar over the top of the well his lips were on it, taking in as much as he could. No matter how much he poured into his mouth, it was never enough. He just kept reaching back in for more, trying to get rid of the taste of dry dirt in his mouth. That was impossible though, he was pretty sure the dirt taste was just a part of his mouth now. Still, he had to force himself to cap the jar after filling it up for something like the fifth time. He shoved it back into his pack and pulled out the other two he had to fill them up too. Once he was done, he decided he might as well check out the actual house as well. He was in desperate need of food. He was in desperate need of a lot of things.

He toed the door open with his foot and slipped inside quietly, gun raised. He was still wary, even if he had already blown every cover he may have had and just about told anyone else here he was a free kill. The inside of the house was dark and damp and smelled even more of mildew than the outside had. Frank scrunched up his nose. Not his favorite smell. The floor beneath his feet felt worryingly weak, and he had to resist the urge to just turn around and leave. He made his way down the entry hallway slowly and headed for where he assumed the kitchen would be. Instead he ended up in the living room, but it connected to the kitchen so he wasn’t really that off. The kitchen was further inside the house, and darker than he would have liked. Not that it freaked him out or anything. 

It was nice, at least, to be out of the sun for a bit. He had gotten so used to the blaring heat on his back and sweat constantly dripping from every pore on his body that he suddenly felt cold now that it was gone. He walked into the kitchen, sliding his hand over the cool granite of the counter tops, instantly regretting it and picking up his slimy hand covered in green fungus. He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and wiped it as best as he could onto his already fucked black jeans. Considering everything he went through out in the zones, they were actually in pretty good shape. Besides the rips, completely torn up bottoms, and dust stains. They were doing far better than the long sleeved red shirt he was wearing, which he had already accidentally ripped the left sleeve off of.

He searched through the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen for some kind of can of food, anything to keep him over for the night. He found nothing though. Just a rat, which he momentarily considered killing and eating, but decided he would rather just starve. He told himself it was because of all the diseases it must have, but really he would’ve felt bad for killing the thing and wasn’t particularly fond of rat meat anyways. 

Having searched the entirety of the kitchen, he decided it was best to leave the mildew house and continue down the street until he found something. The next to houses held nothing, but at the third house he found a rotten piece of fruit. Well, this trip was not really working well for him in the food department. It took him almost three hours to find a single can of the foul BLI brand dog food that seemed to be the only thing he could ever find. For once he just wanted to eat real food. His stomach started aching at the thought of something other than canned food and he had to force himself to stop thinking about it. 

He had already decided that this one would be the last house he hit, and he was just hoping that he’d find something that wasn’t canned or spoiled. As he cracked open the pantry of this last house, he let out a sharp breath. His luck must have been pure shit today, because in all five houses in this slum, he had only found one can of food. Perfect. That meant he’d have to go back out tomorrow and search again. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at the dusty pantry for another minute before coming to again. He figured he might as well check the bathroom for any medical supplies since it was his last house of the day. 

He moved quickly through the cramped house, accidentally stubbing his toe on the couch in the process, and made his way into the master bathroom. What he saw was definitely not what he was expecting, but he never expected much these days. As he stood in the threshold of the cold room he stared straight into a body laying curled up on the tile floor. It wasn’t really a body per say, but a skeleton. Rotted and falling apart, it looked to have had its legs pulled up to its chin as it took its final breath. Decayed skin flaked off its arm and dark cloth clung to its sticky chest. Frank wasn’t sure how they had died, but it must’ve been a while ago. He swallowed the lump in his throat before gagging slightly and turning away. It wasn’t the first time he had seen a body like this, but it wasn't something you ever got used to. He squeezed his eyes shut and took slow, deep breaths. 

Then he turned around again, because he had seen something he knew he couldn’t leave behind. He took a tentative step towards the thing, his fingertips closed tightly around his nose against the horrible smell. He bent down a few steps away and picked up the thing he had seen upon first glance; a mask. He knew better than to leave a mask with its dead body, he liked to think he was somewhat of a good person, considering all that was going on in the world, and so he picked up the mask and studied it for a second. It was all black, with gold diamonds on the edges. He thought if could have been pretty if someone was wearing it. Having gotten the thing he promptly turned around and got the hell out of there, trying to ignore the spilled bottle of pills scattered across the floor. 

Once outside again, he found himself thankful for the fresh air and heat to warm up the chill inside his bones. He took one last look at the mask before tying it to his belt. He would take it to the Phoenix Witch’s mailbox, and she would take it from there and use it to lead the dead home. 

It was time, he believed, to leave this ugly place. So, with one last drink of water, he left the same way he came. He might as well backtrack and set out in a different direction to look for some better place than this to loot. The sun was beginning to set, though, so he knew he would’t get very far. While walking, he found himself thinking. It was one of the only ways to stay sane when walking for long amounts of time in a place that ultimately looks the same in every direction. At first he tried to think of mindless things, like where the nearest mailbox would be. He knew that if he walked for long enough he would come across one, they had a weird way of appearing just when you needed one. But soon his thoughts went darker, as they often did, and he found himself thinking about the bathroom and the death that had occurred inside of it.

He wondered why a person would kill themselves, then realized that there were probably a hundred reasons why and he would never really know the answer. But he had a lot of time on his hands and soon he was listing off all he could think of. Depression. Madness. On the run. Scared. BLI. Lonely. Angry. He could think of so many that it made him stop for a moment. He stared at the ground in front of him intensely as he wondered why he could think of so many. Did he want to kill himself? No. No, of course not. Sure, this wasn’t the best life he could think of, but he enjoyed what he could of it. He got to shoot guns and do whatever he wanted. He was basically a cowboy. A short, sweaty, long-haired cowboy.

After contemplating life for a reasonable amount of time, he moved on to the things he really needed to think about if he wanted to survive. Where was he going to stop for the night? How much water should he ration? Which direction was he even headed? He didn’t entirely care that much, he had no where in specific he wanted to go. But he did need food. 

The sun was about to fall and he took that as his cue to stop for the night. So he plopped himself down onto the dusty ground, in the middle of a desert with nothing in any direction, and flung his pack down beside him. He grabbed the pack and moved it onto his lap, searching for the canned dog food he had found earlier and a fork. He told himself he would only take a few bites, just enough so that he wouldn't have to sleep on an empty stomach, but fifteen minutes later the entire can was gone and he was left staring sadly at the empty metal bottom. 

He sighed inwardly. Now he might not have anything to eat tomorrow. He watched the sunset before him quietly, and wondered if he was ready to sleep or not. He decided no, and reached over into his bag. He pulled out a small hand radio he had taken from a house months ago on a raid and flicked the thing on. Immediately it began spouting out words. 

“…And to all the kids alone out there, find someone to hole up with. Even if you know you’ll lose ‘em- keep ‘em. Because, you bottle-necks, nothing is worse than dying on your own. Get yourself a buddy and get the hell outta there, don’t stay in one place. Move. Move. Move. Never stop, like a jackrabbit on hot coals, never stop moving. Night, Crash-Queens. Live for another day, and you’ll hear me, Dr. Death Defying, tomorrow.”

The station crackled and Frank turned it off and placed it back in his bag. He curled up on the hard ground, knees up to his chest. He tugged his pack closer to him and shoved both it and the mask he was carrying under his arm to prevent anyone from stealing it. He knew from experience that anything not tied to the ground could be stolen. He closed his dry eyes, face pressed against the warm earth, and let sleep take over him for another night. 

-

He opened his eyes the next day to see that not much had changed, except that he was covered in loose dirt. It must have been windy last night, dirt sat on the folds in his jeans and the crooks of his neck and arms. He stood up and brushed it off, then stretched out his aching muscles. Oh how he wished he had a bed. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, then looked at the mask on the ground. It took him a moment to remember why he had it, but he did and it made him shudder involuntarily. He picked it up by the tips of his fingers and slipped the attached string over his wrist. 

He wiped the sleep and dirt out of his eyes and glanced around. Which way had he come from again? He honestly had no fucking clue. So with a shake of his head he picked a direction and went with it, it’s not like he really cared in the first place. Now he was back to walking. Walking and thinking. He hoped the mailbox would show up soon, so he’d have something to do, but with his luck it wouldn’t. Knowing him it would take all day to find the damned thing. 

He began counting his steps as he walked to keep himself occupied. Sometimes he let his brain turn off, but when he came back to he never knew where he was or what had happened and it was honestly scary and he never did it voluntarily. And so he tried to always keep himself occupied with something, and if he couldn’t think of anything he’d just resort to easy things. Counting steps. Singing songs. Making shapes out of the clouds. Anything to stay aware. 

Today he counted his steps, not feeling like doing anything he had to think too hard about. And when he got to step number 2,532, he looked up. There he saw a mailbox on the very edge of his vision to the slight right of where he had been going. He let out a breath of relief and angled himself towards it, guessing that it was maybe 306 steps away. He set about counting his steps towards it and hoping that maybe he was right somehow. 

When he came to the number 306 and he wasn't there yet, he was mildly disappointed to say the least. This time he estimated 78 if he kept up the same spacing. Then he sped off, focusing hard on making his steps even. He got to 70 before he realized that he had shot too low again. He cursed himself before widening his steps, taking the last three as jumps and cheering when he landed a foot away from the box at exactly 78 steps. He felt perhaps a little too proud of himself for the accomplishment. Nevertheless he was here and that was one thing he could cross off his list, and hey that meant he was half way done. All he had left was to find something to eat, but that wasn’t looking very promising. 

He lifted his arm and the mask hanging on it and moved closer to the mailbox. He opened the top up and tossed the thing in, taking a peek at what else was down there in the process. All he saw was a bunch of old masks, which was exactly what he had been expecting. He felt a wave of accomplishment flow over him and he smiled slightly. He had gotten something done today, and it was a good thing too, not just something to benefit his selfish ass. He had done something nice for someone else, and that felt good. Maybe he should do that more often, but then again he never really had the chance to when it was just him all the time.

He was about to leave and continue walking when he heard something from behind him. Something he hadn’t heard in a very, very long time. Steps. That weren't from him. He whirled around and stared behind him, wondering how the hell he hadn't seen the man before he had gotten here. He must have been too into his steps or something, because sure enough a man was walking straight towards him. Suddenly he was terrified, because why was this man walking up to him, what had he done? 

He stood there, stiffly watching the oncoming man with a look of pure shock on his face and maybe some curiosity thrown in there. When was the last time he interacted with another human being? Oh God he didn't think this was gonna go well. He always ended up bruised and on the ground after encounters like this. 

The man was not someone you could easily miss. He had bright red hair that hung in pieces around his shoulders and wore light jeans that were smeared with red dirt on the bottom. He wore a dark blue motocross jacket with the logo for the petroleum company “Dead Pegasus” on it. He slowed down for a second as he got closer and cocked his head like he didn’t know why Frank was there. Then it occurred to Frank that he probably didn’t, and that he was still standing right in front of the mailbox and most likely blocking this guy’s way. With this realization he quickly moved to the side and continued staring at the stranger. 

He was kind of pretty, in an odd way. Frank couldn’t take his eyes off him, he hadn't seen a live body in so long. It immediately made him feel lonely and he craved talking to this guy, but didn't know how. It was as if after so little communication he wasn't sure how to use his voice anymore. Which was weird, because he was pretty sure he had used it just a few hours ago to talk to himself. The guy walked passed him in a hurry, sending a small brush of wind towards Frank. He breathed in softly and watched the man pull five Drac masks out of his bag, dropping them in one at a time. Frank’s jaw slacked a bit and he furrowed his eye brows- had he killed those all on his own?

“Is there a reason you’re staring at me like that?” The guy said after he had finished. He turned toward Frank and gave him a smirk. Frank blinked and opened his mouth, though nothing wanted to come out. “I’m guessing one of your friends died, or?” He trailed off.

“No, actually,” Frank stuttered out. “I’ve been alone for almost two years now. I found a mask in an abandoned house yesterday.”

“Oh? And what if the owner’s not dead, you know the witch hates when she’s given masks of the living.”

“They were dead. I can promise you that,” he said quietly. The man nodded.

“I’m Party Poison. You?”

“Fun Ghoul.”

“I like that,” Party Poison said, smiling. Frank returned the smile and took a step closer.

“I like yours too.” He replied, lightly smiling. He wasn’t all that good at making conversation anymore, and it was starting to become obvious. Poison just laughed and moved closer to him as well, they were only a foot away now.

“How did you get to be alone out here?”

“Groups kept dying, thats how it always ends isn't it? But somehow I never died, and I figured it must be easier to just be alone from the start.”

“I don’t believe so. I think its worth it sometimes to go through the pain if you can remember all the good things you had with those people and all the things you learned from them. When you’re on your own you never have as much hurt, but you never have as much fun either.” That hit Frank harder than Poison had really expected it to. The look on his face was a mixture of pain, sadness, shock, and something of awe that gave him a fairly childish air about him. Poison just turned his head to the side slightly and looked him up and down. He wouldn't ever really understand the whirlwind his words set off in Frank’s brain.

It was like he had pulled the trigger in Frank’s brain. He was thinking about everyone he had ever met. Flashes of faces spilled through, followed closely by scenes of laughing and crying and running and sitting with knees pulled up to his chin. It was a bit overwhelming and for a full minute he stood completely still, staring directly through Poison’s deep blue jacket while his brain went into overdrive. Because, fuck, he was completely right. The pain he had once felt was almost nonexistent now, and he felt kind of stupid for isolating himself for so long. What in the hell had that done for him?

And then Poison was a few inches from his face, a hand on his shoulder and soft eyes staring into him.

“Why don't you come with me? Come with me and if it gets to be too much you can leave at any time, I won’t care.” Frank stared at him for a second, still a little weary from his unexpected trip down memory lane. Then is processed and his eyes widened.

“I don’t… I’m not… You aren't saying this just because you feel sorry for me?” Suddenly Frank felt very self conscious, because this mere stranger had pulled all his sense out from under him and made him feel like an idiot. Now he just felt scared and like clinging on to this stranger for dear life, because dear God he felt so young and vulnerable in that moment. Maybe it was just the fact that this was another human being and that was really throwing him off, or maybe he had been on the cusp of a mental breakdown for weeks now. In any case he found himself very close to leaving with this guy he had only just met.

“No. I promise I’m not going to ditch you, if that’s what you think. I didn't mean to make you so upset, but honestly I was going to ask you to come along before then.” Poison gave him another warming smile and with that, Frank was gone. He was going to go with this guy. He was going to do it.

“I’ll do it,” he breathed. Then he smiled at Poison, because it felt kind of good.


	2. Drastically Flipping Your Life Around

Feeling good, though slightly wary, about his choice, Frank walked briskly beside Poison. He had started to feel better as his brain cleared up and, staring out at the plain landscape, he made small talk with his newfound companion. For once, and this was probably the weirdest thing to him, he didn't have to try to keep himself aware. He was fully there with no effort at all, and he attributed it solely to the man with bright red hair next to him. 

“So how have you made it so long on your own. It had to have been hard,” Poison asked.

“It was, yeah. Really fucking hard,” he sighed, looking up at Poison from behind his hair. “I barely scraped by.”

“Things’ll get better from here,” he said with a firm nod, like he was sure of this. Frank wanted to ask what he meant, but he figured he would find out.

“Why were you alone?”

“What?”

“Why did you go out alone to deliver those masks?”

“Oh. I just, well, I guess I don't really know anyone that would want to come with me on something so mundane. I’m around people, yeah, but I don't like bugging them, I guess,” he frowned and ran a hand through his hair, flipping the long strands back over his head. Frank just nodded, and Poison coughed. Then Frank realized that this whole ‘being around another person’ thing was going to be harder than he expected. But he could always skip out right? He would stick around long enough to get some food and whatever else he could get his hands on, then if he wasn’t feeling it he could ditch. No hard feelings.

“Where are we going?” Frank finally let the thought escape from his lips, even though he was a little afraid of the answer. Poison had made it out to be a place with a lot of people, and that was terrifying. But he just looked over at Frank and the sides of his mouth quirked up.

“The nest. That’s what we call it. It’s where a bunch of us rebels hang out.”

“A bunch?” Frank gulped visibly and Poison laughed at him.

“Don’t sound so scared, I’ll be there with you. Once you get there its not so bad, and no one will really bother you. Especially not with me around.” He looked a little too proud of himself after that last sentence, so Frank decided to pry.

“And why’s that?”

“Because they're scared of me. I have a sort of, uh, reputation?”

“Reputation?” Frank raised his eyebrows at him, was he really just now telling him this?

“Yeah- yeah, a reputation.”

“Ok and what does that mean?”

“It means I’m not a bad shooter.”

“Well, that’s something we have in common then,” Frank said, happy to have at least one thing going for him. Poison turned his head fully towards him.

“Oh yeah? I guess we’ll have to test that out,” he said, giving him a playful smirk. Frank nudged him softly.

“Go ahead. Then you’ll just know I’m right.” Poison laughed.

“Ok, fine. Maybe tomorrow,” he said. That made Frank’s nerves spike- tomorrow. They would still be together tomorrow, a whole 24 hours from now. The thought of sticking with someone for that long made him a little queasy, but he pushed it aside. It was time for change. 

As the conversation lulled Frank started counting his steps again. It was a habit he had developed now, and wasn't one he did consciously. He just kind of found himself doing it in the back of his mind. When he got to step 23 Poison interrupted him.

“What are you doing?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you’re counting.” Frank frowned, lines forming on his forehead. How had he known that? And just as the question came to his thoughts Poison answered them. “I could hear you under your breath.” But that just confused Frank even more, he hadn't been aware that he had ever counted aloud before. He had no way of knowing, though, because no one had ever been around to hear him before. Had he really not heard his own voice?

“Counting steps, I didn't know I was saying them aloud,” he said, a blush forming on his already flushed cheeks from the heat. Poison glanced down at their feet, where their steps had synced up and nodded, but stayed quiet. Frank wasn't sure what to think of that. He had to start from scratch with interpreting Poison’s body language and emotions. He had nothing to go on anymore. It was weird. He didn't really know anything. It worried him slightly and he stared into the side of Poison’s head for a good few minutes before returning his gaze to the horizon.

The horizon was different though. It was subtle, but Frank was sure he could see a bump on the very edge of his vision. He stumbled, his left foot tripping over his right in the middle of step number 76, when he realized what it was. It was where they were going. It was people and buildings. Food and beds. It was noise and confrontation, and the source of all the anxiety he felt building up in his bones at the thought. He wasn't sure if he could do this anymore. What crazy person goes from complete isolation to a populated hang-out in less than an hour? Him apparently.

His breathing grew shallower and he could feel the sand in his lungs, clogging his throat. Or was it just closing in? He wasn't really sure, all he knew was that he couldn't feel his limbs anymore. He felt sand and saw tan, that was it. That and his right hand. His right hand that had clambered its way to Poison’s arm and stuck there like glue until Poison had pulled it off and cupped it in his own two hands. For all he knew his hand was floating, a single line of rope amongst all the sand. His ears were filled with the same stuff that he seemed to be sinking in, but through it he thought he heard soft whispers. They came from right next to him, close to his hand. The hand he could feel. The hand wrapped tightly in someone else’s. He couldn't remember whose for the life of him. His eyes were squeezed shut and at some point he had fallen to his knees, exposed to the ground through the many rips and holes in his jeans.

Gradually he began to feel again. He began to feel that there was in fact no sand. Just the dusty earth beneath his knees and left hand. No sand. None at all. He breathed deeply, and found it came much easier this time. No sand there either. The wind pulled at his hair and clothes and he felt sweat drip off the back of his neck. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. There was nothing but him and the vast expanse of desert and dirt around him. He knew that. And yet there was something warm around his hand, a different warm to the kind you felt from the sun. It encompassed the entirety of his hand and comforted him, though he didn't understand why.

He relaxed his face and slowly opened his eyes. He was met with the hazy blue sky and boring red ground, and a face. A mildly familiar face that went with the warmth covering his hand and the comfort he felt from it. Frank looked down at his right hand, and how it was barely visible between both of Poison’s, then up to the man’s eyes. He sat cross legged next to him, his hands loosely clasped around Frank’s and his eyes regarding him softly. They held no malice or impatience, and for that Frank was thankful. Poison looked at him like he wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet, so Frank spoke first.

“I’m sorry,” he said, because he was. He didn't mean to be such a nuisance.

“You’re fine, Ghoul,” he said honestly. “Take your time, I get it.” Frank looked at him in slight shock, he wasn't expecting him to just understand.

He shifted his legs around so that he sat cross legged too. He didn’t feel like getting up yet, and definitely wasn't in any hurry to get moving, so instead he took this time to get a better look at Poison. The most obvious thing about him was his blood red hair, and he briefly wondered how he managed to keep it so bright. But Frank looked passed the red hair and blue jacket and white jeans that he wasn't sure why he would pick, because they were bound to get dirty almost immediately. Frank examined the way his skin was pale even under the scorching rays of the sun, and his thin lips that curved upwards slightly as he stared back at Frank. He took in his small nose and patchy leather gloves and for the first time he noticed the red paint peeling from the back of his neck. He decided that red was definitely his color.

And all the time Frank spent in silence, taking in Poison’s appearance, the man in question just sat there and stared at the ground. He didn't say a word, he just sat and played idly with Frank’s fingers, which he had just realized were still hung in Poison’s lap. Poison seemed not to mind though, so Frank didn't bother taking them back. He took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and opened his mouth to speak.

“I’m scared,” he said. Poison jerked his head up to look at him, like he had been somewhere else the moment before. He looked at him with big, curious eyes and pulled at one of Frank’s fingers.

“Of what?”

“Lots of things,” he said, laughing at himself. “But in particular, people. Those people.” He raised the hand not in Poison’s to point to the faded bump on the horizon. Poison’s eyes followed Frank’s extended finger and he blinked when he realized what he meant.

“You don’t need to be. I’ll be with you,” he said softly. The way he said it was different from before, and Frank wasn't really sure how to react to that. Of course he would be there, he had invited Frank here hadn't he? Him being there was a given, and the way he said it made it seem like he thought his presence would be comforting to Frank. But they hadn't met each other two hours ago. They didn't even know each other existed. Maybe it was just the fact of knowing he wouldn't be alone that was supposed to comfort him, but Frank had spent years alone, so really it was that that comforted him. Or maybe he was just confusing himself way more than he needed to and he should just accept that Poison wanted to help him, whether they knew each other or not. 

“Why do you wear white jeans, if you know they're going to get dirty?” Frank said, remembering his thoughts from earlier. Poison glanced at him from where he had been staring at the ground in between them. He paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly.

“White is their color. BLI’s. I guess it’s my way of saying ‘fuck you, I’ll take your color and I’ll shit on it’.” Frank leaned back on his left hand and tilted his head back, letting out a sharp laugh. 

“I like that. It’s just the kind of thing that would piss them off too.” Poison’s lips did that thing where the corners twitched up at him, and it made Frank unable to wipe the smile off his face. He was starting to think that maybe the two of them could get along well. Just then Poison stood up, forming a grip on Frank’s hand and pulling him upwards with him. 

“Come on, we’ve got places to get to before the sun sets.” Frank frowned, they would for sure reach the hang-out before sunset, why would he be worried about that? He didn’t question it, though, he just followed Poison as he finally dropped his hand and began walking a little more briskly this time. Frank felt a little saddened at the cold surrounding his hand now, but he forgot about it when he had to quicken his pace to keep up.

The two walked in silence for the rest of the trip, though they soon reached their destination. Frank felt a wave of nausea come over him the second they got closer than one hundred feet. He forced himself to take deep breaths and follow Poison. He thanked his small height for the fact that it allowed him to duck behind Poison and hide from view. There weren’t too many people walking around, but he did his best to avoid eye contact and just look down at his feet. He noticed Poison looking back at him multiple times, an encouraging smile on his face. 

Poison lead him straight into a gas station store that had been revamped. Lights hung draped off the roof, though they couldn't light up without electricity. A cardboard sign nailed loosely above the door read “Remi’s All-American Supply Store”. He wondered what ‘all-american’ meant considering America didn’t exist anymore. Poison opened the door and lead him inside, stopping only when they found a rack of food. Frank immediately perked up. Food. And some of it wasn't dog food.

“Do you have any money?” Poison asked him. He shook his head, the last memory he had of having money was when his third group had died and he had pick pocketed all the money he could carry from them. It wasn't much really, and only held him off for a few months, but he faintly remembered eating entire boxes of Pop-Tarts after long days of walking. “That’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks,” Frank said, looking up at him sheepishly. Poison picked up a can of green beans and started looking around for some fresh fruit. Frank glanced around quickly, looking for a box of those Pop-Tarts. He had been unable to get them off his mind since remembering them, and the look of excitement on his face when he held them up was more than enough to convince Poison to get them too. Frank bounced up and down happily as he held his paid for snack. How long had it been since he had real food last? He had no idea, but it fell far on the ‘too long’ side of the scale. Poison laughed lightly. 

“You look like an alcoholic in a liquor shop, what’s so exciting about processed food?” He said.

“Dude! It's been ages since I had actual food. Now are we gonna eat these now, or…” The pair were now walking through The Nest slowly, Frank had forgotten about his nerves now that his attention had been captured by something else.

“No, not now. We have more things to do, come on,” Poison said, shaking his head at him. Frank frowned and looked down, feeling a little childish for being so disappointed. Poison picked up the pace once again and made his way around the corner and into an ammunition store. Frank had almost forgotten there were other forms of weapons besides blasters. He followed Poison in and was instantly taken back by the mass amounts of demolition laid out in front of him.

“Party Poison! Good to see you again, boy. Run outta the good stuff?” An older man shouted from behind the counter. He looked to be in his 40s or 50s, which was impressive these days. He was balding and lean, with grey scruff covering his chin and neck. He looked like he hadn't showered in weeks and had chipped teeth that appeared when he smiled crookedly. Frank was a little uneasy around the guy, especially not having talked to anyone since meeting Poison.

“Hello Guinness, how are you?” Poison said politely, unaffected by the man’s sloppy tone. Guinness walked around the counter quickly and put a hand on Poison’s shoulder.

“Great. Great! And yer fine I suppose? Yes, o’course. What ya like today?” Poison looked around slowly.

“I need more smoke bombs. Could use more lighter fluid. That’s it I suppose. You want anything?” He asked, turning to Frank for the first time since they walked in. Frank stiffened noticeably as the attention turned to him. He smiled awkwardly and shook his head, putting his hands in his pockets. Guinness, however, seemed to open up even more as he noticed the boy finally.

“And who’s this? Ne’er seen you ‘fore, boy, where ya comin’ from?” He practically shouted. Poison cringed on Frank’s behalf and promptly spoke for him.

“Picked him up out on a run. He doesn't like talking.” Guinness nodded vigorously.

“Ah yes, o’course! O’course. Sorry, kiddo. Go ahead, take a look ‘round. I’ll get yer stuff, P.” He hobbled to the back of the shop and disappeared to look for Poison’s requests.

“P?” Frank asked, amused. Poison looked over at him and sighed.

“I hate it when he calls me that, sounds like he’s calling me piss,” he said. Frank laughed loudly. He was right.

“I think I better start calling you that then.”

“You better not, he’s the only one and it better fucking stay that way.” He gave Frank a playful glare, then gestured around. “Anything catching your eye?” Frank looked around, he hadn’t seen any of these in so long he had forgotten what they did. And most of them were homemade, which didn’t make things easier on him.

“No. I don’t really know what any of these do,” he admitted. 

“I used to not either, you’ll learn,” Poison said, winking at him. Frank blushed. “Here. Most of these are just small explosives. This is a hand grenade, you’ve seen that before, right?” He had moved towards one of the shelves and picked up a dark, round object. Frank nodded. That one he had used before, his last group used to make him throw them because he had the best aim. “Ok, we’ll get a couple of those. Let’s see, this ones a time bomb. That’s a flame thrower. We already have one of those back at base.” He stopped talking when Guinness emerged from the back again.

“Got yer stuff! There ya go, boys. I brought this too, just finished putting it together, looks nice, eh? It’s free, tell me how it works, yeah?” He looked at Poison’s hands. “Pick somethin’ else up? No problem, I’ll take those, ring ya up.” Poison handed him the hand grenades and followed Guinness to the cash register, pulling his money out in the process. He pulled out a small leather bag and dumped a handful of coins out onto the counter, then counted 15 and handed them over. He shoved the half of the supplies into his bag and the other half into Frank’s. Guinness smiled.

“Thanks for the service, P. See ya soon.”

“Bye Guinness.” He said, waving as he pushed through the door and left the store.

“What now?” Frank asked, walking next to him. He paused for a second.

“Home.” Frank gave him a confused look.

“Home?” Poison nodded. “And where’s that?”

“Not too far from here. A few miles North.”

“And how many people are gonna be there?” Frank gulped.

“A few.”

“Yeah, ok.” Frank wasn’t really sure what that meant. A few like one other person, or ten? Did he have a group? Hadn’t Poison said he wasn't close to anyone? They walked alone in silence again, which Frank didn’t mind really because he was used to silence. He spent most of his time in silence, when he wasn't talking to himself. He wondered if Poison minded the silence. Probably not, he didn’t look bothered in the slightest. Which was weird to Frank. Frank had always been the guy to never let his guard down, and to see someone so relaxed and free out in the zones was weirding him out. It just didn’t seem right. 

Frank was very curious about Poison. The more he was around the guy, the more he noticed that he wasn't like the usual BLI rebel. He supposed he could say the same about himself. Neither of them were junkies, or teens looking for alcohol and parties. They were out here because they hated what BLI stood for. They wanted to feel and they wanted to be themselves, that was what all of this was about wasn't it? Not conforming. Sometimes Frank thought that had been lost, and that now the zones were just a fun vacation for some people. He wondered where the rage from the Analog Wars had gone. Where the fight had gone. Maybe it was still there, just broken into pieces. Still alive in the rebels that walked alone through the desert, gun in hand and past behind them.

Home came in the shape of a radio station. Something Frank was really not expecting. The surprised look on his face when they got within looking distance made Poison laugh.

“What? Never seen a radio station before?”

“Not in a long time. There aren’t many around.”

“Yeah, well. Welcome to the only one actually in use in all of the zones.” Frank stopped in his tracks and looked intently at Poison.

“Are you serious? In use?” 

“Yeah, why?”

“Because there’s only two people out there who talk on the lines.” Poison nodded.

“And?”

“Are they here, then? You live with them?”

“I do.”

“Holy shit,” Frank said. All those nights he sat alone with nothing but the radio to fill the silence, and now he was meeting those very people. He felt like he was meeting old friends, except they wouldn't know who he was. He tried hard to keep the excited look out of his eyes, but Poison had already seen it and couldn't help but notice how adorable it was.

Frank followed Poison up to the house. It was an endearing kind of messy, with a cooler and chairs out back and ripped clothes and random items tossed over the front porch. Old rusted tools and appliances were scattered about the property. As they walked up to it Frank noticed that there was a barn in the back that had been repurposed. He couldn't tell from the outside what it was being used for, and all the windows had been boarded up. Poison skipped up the porch steps and walked in through the already cracked open door to the station.

“D? Cola? You guys here?” He called out. Frank stopped behind him in the hallway. He heard a muffled voice come from the room to their right, and Poison smiled widely before following it. They walked into what Frank assumed was a living room, and saw someone laying on a faded deep purple couch pushed up against the wall. His eyes were closed and his hand hung over the edge, barely brushing the floor.

“Get up, Cola. We’ve got company,” Poison said to the man. He immediately snapped his eyes open and hopped up. His hand ghosted over his blaster in his back pocket, until he realized that wasn't the kind of company Poison had been talking about. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the newcomer. “This is Ghoul.”

“Uh, hi?” He said, running a hand through his hair.

“Hi,” Frank said awkwardly. Cola didn't look like he had expected him to, but he hadn't really had any idea what he would've looked like anyways. He was slightly taller than Poison with light brown hair that had a bluish-grey streak through it. Poison sighed, he was going to have to do all the talking here.

“I found him all alone in the desert. Told him he could tag along. That's alright I presume.” They both turned towards Frank, which really wasn't helping with the pressure he was feeling. His hands shook a little as he tried to get his thoughts in order. Cola smiled and nodded at him.

“Yeah sure, why not? You find him a place to sleep or something, Poison. Stay as long as you want.” Relief ran through Frank, he half expected Cola to yell at him and kick him out. It was like asking a parent if he could sleep over for the first time.

“Cool. Come on, I’ll show you my room. You can put your stuff there for now. Do you know where D is?” Poison said.

“Getting ready for a broadcast, I wouldn't bug him till after,” Cola said. Poison turned and pulled Frank out through the back of the house to the barn. The inside looked like a college dorm room with the amount of mess no one had bothered to clean up. Poison didn't even seem to notice it. “This is where I live. Cola and Dr. D have rooms in the radio station, but me and Show Pony stay out here. This room’s mine.” He gestured to the room closest to the door.

“Show Pony?”

“Yep. They go out on a lot of errands for Cola and D though so they're out a lot. You’ll meet them soon enough.” The use of ‘they’ pronouns confused Frank for a minute, but he got over it quickly after realizing it didn't really matter to him. He’d just have to make sure he didn't mess that up. Poison opened the door into his room, which was equally messy, and took Frank’s bag from him. He cleared out a corner of the room by the door for Frank’s stuff, while Frank looked around. The room had light orange walls that were covered in blueprints, posters that predated BLI, and a few polaroids. There were papers and pencils everywhere, and he was cautious not to step on any as he made his way over to the bed and ran a hand across it.

A bed. It had been so long since he had slept in a bed. He looked down at it in awe. What would it be like to sleep in a bed? He honestly couldn't remember. With caution he sat down on the edge of it, and inhaled sharply as he sunk into it. Poison looked at him curiously.

“So you found the bed?” He said sarcastically. Frank grabbed a handful of the blanket, trying to absorb its softness. He nodded.

“Not hard to find.”

“No. I suppose not. How long’s it been?”

“I have no idea. Before I was even on my own we rarely slept in beds. Always on the move, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I… Can I sleep here tonight?” Frank paused before looking up at Poison. He wasn't sure if that was crossing any boundaries or something since they had just met, but he really wanted to sleep in a bed. Poison didn't seem to care if he had, he just smiled at him.

“Yeah, of course. You don’t mind if I sleep in the bed too?”

“Oh, God no. It’s your bed anyways, I just wanna sleep in it.” Frank grinned at him. There was no one out here to care who you shared a bed with, that had been forgotten long ago.

“Well feel free to whenever you like. My beds open to you from now on,” he said, laughing. Poison walked over and sitting next to him, they were both quiet for a minute before Frank spoke.

“I like your room,” he said.

“Thanks, I’ve been living here for a year now.”

“Really? I’ve never met someone who could stay in one place for so long.”

“Yeah. D found me on my own just like you, and told me a hoard of dracs would kill me if I stayed by myself. I figured it was bullshit, but I was hungry out of my mind and was more than willing to eat all of his food.” Frank knew the feeling too well.

“And then what happened?”

“I tried to steal from them and bolt, but they caught me. They put me to work, and since then I’ve never tried to leave again. Never wanted to.” Frank considered that for a moment. It was very possible that he would find himself in a similar position, and he wasn't sure if minded that at all. They seemed to know what they were doing here anyways, if they had survived for so long. Their conversation was cut short by the growling of Frank’s stomach.

“Are you hungry? What have you eaten today?” Poison asked. It was late afternoon now, and Frank hadn't had anything all day. Though this wasn't something unusual for him, he had eaten an entire can of dog food last night and that had probably made his stomach hopeful. Frank shook his head.

“Nothing,” he said sheepishly.

“Don’t you have any food?”

“No,” Frank all but mumbled. The sympathetic look Poison gave him made him want to hide in a corner. It wasn't that he hated pity, but he didn't really like thinking about his troubles. It was fine when it was just him, but it was embarrassing how bad off he was. Poison stood up.

“Let’s go eat those Pop-Tarts,” he said, making his way back into the radio station. Frank’s heart rate sped up. There were going to be a lot of firsts today; starting with real food and ending with sleeping in a bed. This, he thought, is a God damn miracle.


	3. Pop-Tarts and Heart to Hearts

Poison grabbed his bag from the floor where he had dropped it after walking in. Frank smiled at him from behind, and, with the box of Pop-Tarts in hand the two made their way outside. Poison lead him to the side of the house and sat down, leaning his back against the wall and patting the ground next to him. Frank did the same and squealed excitedly as Poison placed the cardboard box down in between the them.

“Ok, Ghoul. Let’s make this special, alright?” He opened the box slowly and pulled out the first silver package. Frank’s mouth watered, he could smell the faint fruity smell coming from the package. They had gotten the plain strawberry ones, because those ones were all the store had. The smell of fake strawberry was enough to make his mouth hang open. Poison smirked at him and ripped open the package. Frank’s arm quickly shot forward and made grabby-hands for one of the two that came in the package. Poison chuckled and shook his head at him, pulling away from him.

“Not just yet,” he said. Frank stared at him angrily and made a sound of distress. “Oh come on, don't hate me. Here’s how this is gonna go- I’m gonna ask you a question and if you answer it you can take a bite.”

“What! I’m starving! Besides that’s hardly fair, why don't I get to ask you anything?”

“You can, we can play it both ways. I’ll answer your questions for a bite too.” Frank glared at him suspiciously, crossing his arms around his chest. Eventually he gave in, but only because his stomach was screaming at him.

“Fine.”

“Great, I’ll go first. How’d you come up with Fun Ghoul?”

“Sounds like fungula which means ‘fuck’ in Italian. Plus its a cool name.” Frank spoke fast, eager to get his hands on the gold laying in Poison’s hand. Poison laughed at him.

"How did you even know that?”

“I'm Italian?” He shrugged, raising his eyebrows at Poison in an attempt to say ‘give me that fucking Pop-Tart now you cunt’. The smile on Poison’s lips widened as he leaned in closer to Frank and, instead of handing handing him the Pop-Tart like he expected, shoved it against his lips. Frank met his eyes with a bewildered look before opening his mouth and just letting Poison feed him. He forgot about it the second the food hit his tongue, his eyes fluttering shut. 

“Holy shit,” he said under his breath. A slew of curse words slipped from his mouth as he chewed real food. Well, not real per se. As soon as he swallowed he wanted more, and was about to take another bite when Poison moved his hand back.

“Enjoy that?” He said, laughing even harder now. “You gotta ask me a question.” Frank sighed.

“Ok, how’d you come up with your name?” He didn't bother trying to come up with anything better, he really just had food on his mind at this point. 

“Nothing as grand as your story. I just thought it sounded cool.” Frank nodded and looked at him expectantly, ready for his own question. “Well? You’re just gonna leave me hanging then?” Poison nodded towards the other Pop-Tart lying on top of the wrapper on the ground. 

“I have to do it for you, really?” Frank said, letting out an irritated sigh.

“Hey, I fed you, it’s only polite!” Frank laughed at him and shook his head, then picked it up and slapped Poison in the face with it. The top half broke off and fell onto the ground. “Hey, what the fuck, man!”

“I’ll still eat it,” Frank giggled, reaching for it. Poison slapped his hand and grabbed it himself.

“Anyone would,” he said, taking a bite. Frank looked down and smiled when he noticed the rest of the Pop-Tart in his hand. Without hesitation he shoved the entire thing in his mouth and began to chew around a huge mouthful. Poison stared at him in wonder, but Frank wasn't really all that concerned with him in that moment. “That’s cheating, dude.” Frank shrugged.

“You don’t need to bribe me to answer your questions, ya know. I’ll answer them anyways,” he said, spewing crumbs as he talked. Poison tilted his head at him, as if he hadn't really thought about that. 

“Well since you’ve already dug in, I guess I’m cool with that.” He leaned back against the side of the house and looked towards the horizon, taking small bites from the snack in his hand.

“Do you have any siblings?” Poison asked.

“Nope. Just me.”

“Oh.”

“You?”

“A brother. He's... not around.” Frank glanced at him briefly, noticing the pained look in Poison’s eyes, and moving on quickly.

“Why red?” Frank said.

“I came across a box of bleach on one of my first runs ever. I had a group back then, it was years ago. Just some dumb kids I grew up with. Of course, being the impulsive little shit I am, I thought it would make me stand out. I just bleached my entire head right there, then I realized I wanted a color, but there weren't any dyes. I ended up with white hair for like a month before I somehow stumbled across an old bottle of red hair dye, and I’ve kept it up ever since.” 

“What part of bat city did you grow up in?”

“Slum side. Mother never had much money, bless her soul.” Frank nodded and finished his last bite of Pop-Tart, before reaching into the box for another. “You?”

“Few miles from the outer perimeter. Easy access to the Zones. Easy to escape.”

“How old were you?”

“I had just turned 16 when I left, 19 now,” Frank said.

“23,” Poison said. The sun had set by now, and the two were sat in the dark against the side of the radio station eating Pop-Tarts. Frank was almost on his third, while Poison had yet to finish his first. The conversation had slipped into a lull, as they both tried to think up questions. Eventually Frank just smiled at him and forgot about questions.

“This is really nice. I think I needed this,” he said. Poison returned his smile easily.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is. I think, maybe I did too.”

“The both of us have been alone for a little too long,” Frank said, smirking. Poison shook his head and laughed.

“I guess you’re right. Who would’ve thought?” The two fell silent again for a moment. “What’s your favorite color?”

“That’s all you got?” Frank laughed. “Green, I’d say.”

“So thats how it’s gonna be? Well then, what’s your favorite thing about being alone?” 

“The silence. How long have you been in the zones?”

“Two years. I spent a lot of time in bat city.”

“I hated that place.”

“It’s not a hard thing to hate. I didn’t really have a choice.”

“What do you mean?”

“I waited for my brother, and it took him a long time to come around.”

“You must've really cared about him. How’d you stay sane?”

“I didn’t.” Frank gave him a sly smile.

“Me neither.”

-

They stayed and asked each other questions until there were no more Pop-Tarts left in the box. Which wasn't as long as you might think, considering how fast Frank blew through them. Finally Poison stood up and offered his hand to Frank, who allowed Poison to pull him up. Poison threw the empty box into a trashcan at the back of the house as they walked towards the garage. Frank followed him into his room and stopped a few feet away from the bed. He yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes. Man, socializing really sapped a guy’s energy. 

Poison walked over to a pile of clothes near his bed and pulled out a stretched out white t-shirt. He proceeded to strip down to his boxers and slip the shirt on. Frank didn’t even bother looking away, he was too tired to process anything anyways, and it was over before the command could form in his brain. Poison turned around and caught his eye before sending him a wink. He threw a shirt at him, which landed perfectly on top of his head. For a second Frank’s heart beat out of his chest, but he tore it off his head quick enough.

“You can wear that to sleep, don’t want you getting dirt all over the bed,” Poison said, hopping in and snuggling under the covers. Frank sighed and pulled his clothes off lazily, then stuffed the shirt over his head. He was quick to get in the bed too. He cherished the way it cradled his aching body and felt so fluffy compared to the ground. It was like he was floating. He let out a small groan and shifted around so that his back was to Poison. He inhaled the scent of the pillow beneath him deeply, catching the brief scent of shampoo as he tried to force the linens to absorb him fully. 

He closed his eyes, ready to get the best night of sleep he’d had in years. He felt the bed shift behind him, and almost subconsciously found himself adjusting so that he was closer to it. By the time sleep came he had completely convinced himself that the desert got cold at night, and that was why he was completely fine with the warm body in bed next to him.

-

The morning came soon enough, too soon for Frank’s liking, and definitely too cold. A quick turn over showed him that he was alone in the bed, Poison’s side long smoothed out and chilled from his absence. With a long groan Frank pulled himself out of the bed and onto the floor. It felt like the mattress had gooey arms around him, trying to keep him sucked into the bed. Frank planted his feet firmly on the ground and looked around, trying to rub away his fuzzy vision. The first thing he noticed was his clothes were missing, and those were the only ones he had. 

He assumed that meant it was perfectly fine for him to parade around in his boxers and Poison’s shirt, which he couldn't really care less about anyways. Of course, he was a newbie here and didn’t really know anyone except Poison. Even so he’d only know the man for 24 hours, although it may have felt like a lot more to the two of them, who had immediately taken to each other. Sometimes it seems two people just fit together, gut instinct told them to trust and so they did. 

Frank peered around the door quietly, searching for any sign of life. His eyes fell on a certain someone kicked back on the couch, legs dangling casually over the side and one arm brushing the floor. The other held a torn comic book to his face. A small smile crossed Frank’s lips and he stepped past the doorway, silently making his way to Poison’s side. Slowly Poison turned his head to look at him, the comic book falling onto his chest and a lazy smile tugging at his lips.

“Hey there, sleepy head. How’d my bed treat ya?” Poison said.

“Like a fucking princess. Never slept so well in my life. What time is it?”

“Dunno, I woke up a few hours ago and the sun had just risen so.” Frank nodded idly. The two stared at each other before Poison looked him up and down, noticing his lack of pants. 

“Oh yeah. I washed your clothes for you. You’re welcome, don’t expect it again,” he said, smirking.

“Washed?”

“Yeah, we have a well. We have to hand wash everything, but it’s not too hard. Your clothes are hanging to dry right now.”

“Wow, thank you. Uh, can I have some pants though?”

“I mean, I guess I could lend you a pair of mine,” Poison said, chuckling and jumping up from the couch. He walked back into his room and returned with a pair of dark blue jeans. Frank wrinkled his nose, he hadn't worn blue jeans in years. So long he had forgotten they even existed. In fact, he wished they didn’t, they were awful and uncomfortable. He didn't care what anyone said, black jeans were ten times more comfortable then blue and looked a hell of a lot cuter on. Poison didn't seem to notice his discontent though, he just handed him the pants and waited for him to slip them on, which Frank did reluctantly. They were kind of baggy and sat loosely against his hips.

“Breakfast?” Poison said once Frank was ready to go. Frank immediately perked up at the mention of food and he nodded his head vigorously. Breakfast was somewhat of a foreign concept for him, but he was more excited at the thought of it no longer being so. Hell, the idea of three meals a day was enough to give him a hard on. 

Frank followed Poison out of the house and into radio station, noticing his clothes were indeed hanging to dry outside. They walked through the back door and to the very front of the building, where the kitchen was. It was dusty and slightly cluttered, it looked very old fashioned, as did the rest of the house, but it gave off a quaint feel. 

“What are you…?” Frank trailed off with a laugh. Poison paused in the action of putting on an old, floral-patterned apron and looked into Frank’s face, placing a hand on his hip.

“What? A guy can’t protect his clothes while he cooks?” He raised an eyebrow, trying to keep down a smile. Frank shook his head in disbelief. 

“Ah, I see. Wouldn’t want to get those spotless white pants o’ yours dirty.” The two smiled uncontrollably at each other for a moment before time seemed to resume. Poison tied his apron on and Frank moved so that he was standing next to him. “What we making, Petunia?” Poison snorted.

“Petunia?”

“Yeah, well, if you’re gonna look a granny I’m gonna call you a granny name.” Poison doubled over laughing.

“I do not look like a granny!”

“You really do. A granny with really bright red hair.” Frank snickered at Poison, who had pushed past him to get a look at himself in the reflection on the oven door. “Did I tell ya, or what?” Poison shot him a look.

“Why Petunia?” He asked, turning away from the oven and brushing his hair back with his hand.

“Starts with a P.”

“And?”

“P? Poison? You know, your name.” Poison’s eyes widened in realization and he chuckled before walking back over to Frank, who gave him a quizzical look.

“Oh yeah. I’m not actually used to people calling me that.”

“No?”

“Nope. I don’t talk to too many people outside of the house, and everyone here callsl me by my real name.” Frank raised his eyebrow at him. Poison looked at him through slanted eyes, as if debating, then looked down again and said quietly, “Gerard.”

Frank smiled warmly at him, “Frank.” Gerard looked up at him in slight surprise. It seemed something intimate to give away your birth name, since most people didn't use them at all anymore. It was the most effective way of keeping away from BLI. But Gerard liked his, it reminded him of all the people who meant the most of him. His family, his friends, just good things in general. It made him a little uncomfortable that he had known Frank for so little, yet he had just given that away. It now didn’t seem so intimate, and he wondered if he should have kept it to himself. It was done now though, and he couldn't ignore the fact that he seemed to be taking a great liking to this boy. 

“Gertrude then,” Frank said, nodding once in confirmation. Gerard made a noise and rolled his eyes. Frank. He liked that name. He searched around the cabinets for a minute and came back with a second apron. He threw it at Frank and it landed directly on his face. 

“Put that on, Fiona.”

“Wha- Fiona! C’mon dude that sucks.”

“You come up with a better one then! That was the best I could think of, not many old lady names start with an F.”

“Fine.” He frowned, crossing his arms. Gerard just shook his head, smiling down at him.

“So. Pancakes?”

“PANCAKES!” Frank clapped his hands together and giggled madly. Was he in literal heaven, or what? Maybe God did exist. He couldn't get over the immense joy of how his life had turned around in just the past day.

“You’re such a child.” Gerard laughed.

“You aren’t?” Gerard ignored him and began to make breakfast for the house. Frank stood next to him, talking excitedly and messing with Gerard whenever he could. 

“God dammit- Fiona! Stop touchin' me!” Gerard said, slapping Franks hand away from his arm. Frank just cracked up laughing, putting both hands on the counter to brace himself.

“I can’t help it, Gertrude! I need pancakes now,” he said, a small pout on his lips. 

“They take a few minutes at most, my god. Calm yourself down.” He was right. A few more minutes of Frank’s whines and the pancakes were ready. Gerard had made ten plain ones for D and Cola, and five chocolate chip ones for himself and Frank each. He wasn't really sure if you could call the chocolate chip ones pancakes even, since they were at least 95% chocolate. 

Frank bounced from foot to foot as he watched Gerard slide the pancakes on to plates for them all. Gerard undid his apron and placed it back on its hook, then held his hand out from Frank’s.

“D! Cola! Breakfast is made,” he shouted to the household. Immediately the sound of a chair screeching back and the rustling of movement was heard. Cola appeared in the doorway first.

“Mornin’ G, Ghoul,” he said, smiling, before walking past and sitting down at the small round kitchen table in the attached room. The kitchen was laid out in a rectangle that lead to a small curved room at the far end of it, which then lead into the living room. The wooden kitchen table sat beside a window in the curved corridor, with three metal stools around it and a cactus in a pot in the middle. 

D rolled up to the table, having gone through the living room as it was closer to his office, and began to talk before noticing the stranger in the house. That was when Frank realized he hadn't ever introduced himself to D, just Cola.

“Well, hey there. Who’s this youngin’?” D said. Gerard looked over his shoulder, he had just finished readying the plates and turned fully to face the group.

“Oh. This is Ghoul, newest member of the team,” Gerard said, flashing a grin at Frank. Frank nodded nervously and shrugged.

“Yeah, I uh, I don’t know. I guess I’m staying here for a little.” He didn't really even know what he was doing himself, how was he supposed to explain it to others. Thankfully, D didn't seem to mind too much.

“Ah, I see. Well, make yourself at home, Ghoul. We don't bite- unless you’re a Drac. Or a scarecrow. Or an asshole, even. Hell, you know what maybe we do bite,” D said with a sharp laugh. Gerard grabbed the plates, taking D and Cola’s then handing theirs to Frank. Everyone began eating as soon as the food was laid down.

“What possessed you to make pancakes, G? You haven't cooked in forever,” Cola said. He looked up at Gerard, shoving another bite into his mouth then slowly pulling the fork out. Gerard blushed.

“Oh, I dunno. I just felt like it. It’s like asking you why you wore that shirt today.” Cola nodded slowly, twirling his fork in his fingers and giving Gerard a knowing smile. Gerard looked away and focused on his plate once again.

“Anyone know when Show Pony’s comin’ back?” Gerard said.

“Nah, that kid likes to take their time, thats for fucking sure. Dunno what they do out there, messin’ around in the desert,” said D.

“Oh come on. They’re a good kid, and you know it. We need ‘em,” Cola said, pointing his fork at D.   
“So, Ghoulie. Tell Dr. D, about yourself. I wanna know about this crash-queen hanging around my house,” D said, ignoring Cola’s glare completely. Frank felt all eyes on him, and gulped, hoping the anxiety would go down with his food.

“Shit, um. Name’s Fun Ghoul, I’m 19. I’ve been on my own for, like, three years now?” Cola choked on his food and started coughing loudly. D turned to him and pounded on the back.

“Jesus man, take it easy,” D said to Cola, then turned to Frank. “Are you fucking kidding me? How the hell did you last so long?” Frank just shrugged, not entirely sure himself.

“What time are your next talks?” Gerard blurted out, taking the attention away from Frank, who wished he could scream thank you into the man’s ear.

“Like two hours from now,” Cola said.

“Nightfall,” said D.

“Ok. Me and Ghoul are gonna go do some shit, see ya later,” Gerard said, grabbing Frank’s arms and racing them out the front door before another word could be said.

“What ‘shit’ are we doing?” Frank said. 

“Remember when you told me yesterday you were a good shooter? And I said you’d have to prove it. Well, that’s what we’re gonna do. Come on,” Gerard said, turning and walked around to the back of the house. Gerard turned around when Frank hadn’t followed him and a worried look crossed his face when he noticed his frown. “Whats wrong?”

“Is this a test?” Frank met Gerard’s eyes.

“It’s a game. Whoever shoots the most cans wins, and winner’ll get some kinda prize,” Gerard said, taking a few steps forward and grabbing Frank’s hand. He moved backwards, pulling Frank with him.

“What prize?”

“We’ll decide later.” Gerard led them to the shed, where there were a few wooden crates laying around and a bin of empty soda cans. He let go of Frank and grabbed two crates, moving them a few feet away and spacing them a foot apart. He then walked over and leaned down to pick up an armful of cans. He placed six on each crate, all on a line, then stood back.

“Ok. Rules are; we both have to stand the same distance away, we’ll go one at a time, and you have to knock the can fully off the crate. I’ll let you chose how far away we stand. Oh, and try not to shoot me,” he said, sending a cocky look Frank’s way. Frank shook out his arms and matched Gerard’s confident posture. 

“Right,” he said. He walked over so that he was in line with his cans, the ones on the left, and started moving backwards until he felt he was far enough away. He went as far as he could reasonably shoot, since he felt like impressing Gerard and knew he probably stood a good chance of shooting accurately.

“You sure?” Gerard asked him, raising an eyebrow. Frank nodded and sent him a winning smile. He reached down and slipped his blaster from its place on his belt, spinning it once in his hand before finding a comfortable grip. He spread his feet apart and lifted his arm straight out, closing one eye and focusing on the far left can. He aimed just a little bit high, knowing that the gun always seemed gravitate low, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger. A flash of green light and the can was gone. 

Frank yelled out in success, chancing a look at Gerard, who stood to the side with his arms crossed. His face was unreadable, which made Frank a little nervous. He turned his thoughts to the next can and moved his arm to the right an inch. This can was more bent than the last one, so he lowered his arm slightly before firing once again. Another flash of light and a second can down. Frank smirked to himself. He had this.

Frank shot the next four cans just as easily, with only minor adjustments. After the last can fell, he turned to look at Gerard, who still looked just as unimpressed as before. And then their eyes met and his demeanor broke. Gerard took three large steps toward Frank and grabbed his shoulders.

“That was fucking amazing,” he said excitedly. “You hit dead in the center every time!” Frank giggled and stepped out of Gerard’s grasp.

“Practice makes perfect,” he said, winking at Gerard. Gerard shook his head and laughed.

“Well, don’t think you’ve won just yet. You may be an incredible shot, but so am I.” Gerard pushed him to the side gently and took his stance. Frank watched as he pulled out a shiny yellow blaster and aimed it. Gerard took little time in shooting the cans off as well. Until the last one, which he hit a little too low in the process, and the can spun in a circle on its side. It spiraled sideways and neared the edge of the crate, but stopped a centimeter from falling off.

“Fucking hell! What the fuck! How is that even possible, that’s bullshit,” Gerard let off a string of curses, and Frank burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he had to sit on the ground to regain control of himself again. He sat there giggling at Gerard’s failure in his own game and the anger that had followed, because honestly it was hilarious. Gerard looked about ready to damn physics to hell, he just kept shaking his head in disbelief, pieces of his red hair falling into his face. 

“I guess I win, then,” Frank said, finally able to breathe again. Gerard glared at him before walking over and throwing himself onto the ground next to him. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. What prize do you want?” Gerard was eager to move on from this, considering the intense embarrassment he felt. He leaned his chin on his hands and sighed. Frank shrugged.

“Hm, I don’t know. What do you think?”

“I think we should have a rematch.”

“No way! Fuck you, I won fair and square.”

“Ok so just, I owe you something. Tell me what when you come up with it.” Frank nodded slowly, that made sense. He just had to figure what he could possible want from him. Gerard stood up again and held his hand out to Frank, who took it and pulled himself up.

“What now?” Frank asked. Gerard thought for a moment, it had to be around mid-day now. 

“I don’t really know,” he said. The two walked inside and took seats on the couch. With nothing else to do, they simply sat and talked. Fortunately enough, it was easy for them. The perks of meeting someone new is that they know absolutely nothing about you, which leaves plenty of room for explaining. And thats what they did until nightfall, they got to know each other.

-

As the night took over the day, Frank and Gerard laid sprawled out in their living room. Currently, they sat at opposite ends of the couch, knees curled up and feet just barely touching. They had blown through an array of topics, from comics and superheroes to punk bands and finally coming to rest on the future. Frank found himself deep in thought, realizing that he hadn't said an actual word in a while, though he had been having quite the conversation in his own head. Looking up he caught Gerard’s eye, the man had been looking at him intently and it made Frank’s cheeks heat up.

He idly tapped Gerard’s foot with his own, not sure if he wanted to break the silence. After such lengthy conversations, it wasn't awkward to have a bit of down time. The silence was comfortable and soothing, just like Gerard. Nothing was ever weird or bad with him around. There was definitely something about that man that had really gotten into Frank’s head. In good ways and bad. Gerard opened his mouth to say something, but in that moment the door swung open and Cola peeked his head in.

“Dinner’s ready, I made spaghetti,” he said, looking them both over once, before turning around and leaving before anyone could say a word. Gerard looked over at him and laughed, getting up and reaching a hand out towards Frank. He took it happily and stepped up next to Gerard. They walked into the other house and were greeted with the wonderful smells of cooking. Frank almost melted into the ground. He closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. This was a smell he barely even recognized anymore, one that brought back faint memories of his mother standing in the kitchen over a steaming dish of pasta.

When he opened his eyes he saw Gerard a few steps ahead of him, turned to face him with a curious look on his face. Frank gave him a peaceful smile and walked ahead of him airily. He wasn't sure a person could get high off of the smell of spaghetti, but if so, he definitely was. Either that or just raw happiness- he really couldn't get over his rampant stroke of luck.


	4. Shadows Aren't Real

Dinner was, of course, even better than it smelled. Which was not surprising, but became disconcerting when considering the sheer amount of spaghetti a single person (Frank) could consume in one sitting. Frank himself had no problem with this, it was hard to be troubled with health after spending so much time starving. He knew he was underweight, and that just made the food in front of him all the more enticing. His body was bloated and aching from the drastic switch in gears, it would take him a while to settle from fight or flight mode.

Frank made sure to thank Cola, and everyone else at the table, profusely for cooking dinner and in general being so accommodating of him. He couldn't help but feel like deadweight here, but these people tried their best to counteract that while at the same time caring for him far better than he had ever cared for himself. And it wasn't even a struggle for them, they just took him in stride with a pat on the back. If Frank believed in miracles, this would surely have been one, but he didn't and similarly he didn't believe he deserved such a miracle. However, someone surely did, and maybe if he believed in a God he would say as such. But he didn’t.

Midway through dinner, the front door flew open. The surprised looks on the faces around Frank told him he wasn't the only one in the dark about this new arrival. A figure sauntered into the room, slinging a backpack off their shoulder and tossing it into the nearest corner. Within the span of a second, the three surrounding Frank at the table had wide smiles on their faces. 

“Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence,” D said, focusing on the figure. Whoever it was had moved closer, throwing their hood off and leaning against the door frame, crossing their legs over one another. They wore an odd combination of clothing that had Frank’s head spinning. A black windbreaker lay unzipped over what looked like a white crop top matched to white leggings with blue polka dots. It was quite the look, one that was intent on making its wearer the center of attention. 

The person had short black hair and apparent eyeliner draw poorly under their eyes. They stood casually, a smirk playing on their lips. The self confidence was blatantly obvious, though not entirely obnoxious. They looked slowly around the room, eyes at last landing on Frank and eyebrows raising significantly. Their gaze moved to Cola, then narrowed at Gerard.

“This is Ghoul. Newest member of the family,” Gerard said on his behalf. Show Pony opened their mouth, then shut it once more before nodding. They turned suddenly and left the room, returning a moment later dragging a chair in tow. They swung the chair up next to Gerard, then grabbed a plate of spaghetti and sat down, shoveling food down with a rate comparable to Frank’s.

“So, where ya stayin’ then, Ghoul?”

“Uh, well, for now I was just keepin’ my stuff in Gerard’s room.” Frank glanced at Gerard briefly, noticing the secret smile on his lips. Show made a noise of acknowledgment and continued to eat. From there things began to pick up once again as everyone caught up and Show relayed the details of their trip. Soon enough, everyone had finished and it was late into the night. Cola stood up and stretched, reaching to take everyone’s plates.

“I believe we’re done here, it’s getting late, and I’m sure Show over here is tuckered out,” he said to the group. Gerard led Frank and Show back into their small home. Frank looked about through half-lidded eyes, all the socializing of the night making him sleepy. Show called out a ‘good night’ to them and walked straight into their room, closing the door behind them without a second look. Gerard noticed how tired Frank looked and laughed. 

“You ok there, Frankie?” Frank nodded and yawned, reaching one hand up to wipe his eyes. Gerard took that as a cue to pull him by the arm into their bedroom. Frank changed into his baggy white shirt mindlessly and slipped into bed without a single thought. His head had just hit the pillow when he heard Gerard’s voice.

“Night,” he said softly, staring at the back of Frank’s head.

“G’night,” Frank slurred and promptly fell asleep.

-

When Frank woke up, the first thing that he noticed was the weight of an arm thrown across his chest. He rotated his body to look at the man next to him, surprised to see that this time he was the first awake. Not knowing what to do, he carefully moved Gerard’s arm off of him and slowly pushed himself off of the bed. He opened the door as quietly as possible and padded down to the bathroom. After peeing and brushing his teeth using the spare toothbrush Gee had lent him, he examined himself in the mirror. 

His skin was no longer caked in dirt and the dark circles under his eyes he had thought were etched into his skull had begun to fade. He looked like a different man, a much healthier and happier one. It was as if when he had scrubbed layer after layer of dead skin off his body he had unearthed something new within him. He could even say there was a spark of joy somewhere in his eyes. The cuts along his arms from the brush had all begun to heal, and his face had begun to shed the patches of sunburn that he had never been able to get rid of previously.

Somewhere during the time he was poking and prodding his face, Show Pony had arrived outside the door. For a few minutes, they just stood there and watched him, trying to get a feel for what this new person was like. They really hadn’t expected to find another person living with them when they returned, especially with Gerard.

“How long have you been here?” Show asked, making their presence known finally. They had been trying to gauge whether Frank was simply narcissistic, as they were sometimes, or something else entirely. By the way he had admired himself with a look of wonder, they decided on the later. Frank jumped slightly at the noise, then immediately blushed when he noticed who it was.

“Only two days now.”

“You think you’ll stay?” Frank turned away from them and leaned forward onto the counter.

“I don’t know. I don't really have anywhere else to go,” he said. Show nodded.

“I know what that’s like,” they said, turning around and taking a step away before looking back at the man and making eye contact through the mirror. “Stay as long as you like, Gee seems to like you a lot anyways.” And then they were gone, disappearing down the hallway. Frank heard the door shut. He took a deep breath, got one more good look at himself, then returned to his room.

He was careful to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake Gerard, but he got the feeling the man was definitely a heavy sleeper. He heard soft snores as he moved past the bed and smiled to himself. He bent down next to his pack and picked up the stack old comics Gerard had offered him, planning on spending his time reading whilst he waited for Gerard to wake up. He returned to the living room and sat down on the couch, crossing his legs underneath him.

Frank wasn't really sure how long he spent waiting for Gerard to wake, but it was long enough for him to have gotten through a few comics. The man in question stumbled out of the room yawning and rubbing his eyes, he looked around and met Frank’s gaze with a lazy smile. He walked over and sat next to Frank, then noticed the comics next to Frank and his smiled widened.

“Morning,” Frank said.

“Mornin’. You reading those comics I gave you?”

“Yeah, they're great.” Frank nodded. Gerard’s face grew more serious, and he sat for a minute thinking. Finally he moved closer to Frank and opened his mouth, hesitating for only a second.

“There’s something I need to do, I’ve been planning it for a long time. I know you just got here, but I think you were the sign I needed. Would you be willing to go with me?” Gerard looked deeply into Frank’s eyes, making the question at hand all the more intense. 

“Where?”

“To meet a friend, she has some information for me. I can explain it better on the way. That is, if you come,” he said, looking embarrassed. Frank thought about it. Here was pretty nice and he as reluctant to leave again, but he also didn’t want to be here without Gerard. He wasn’t comfortable enough with anyone else here yet.

“Yeah, I’ll go with you,” Frank said. Gerard’s face lit up.

“Yeah?”

“Hell yeah.”

After a quick breakfast of left over spaghetti, Gerard pulled Frank into their room to prepare to leave. Once again, Frank pulled his backpack out from the corner and opened it. The very few items he had accumulated were still there: the jars of water, a bent fork, a steak knife, and a hand radio shoved to the bottom. His mind flashed back to just a few days earlier when he had stood at the edge of a scum town, starving and dehydrated. Part of him worried he would assume that same position in the days to come, but another part told him he was safe now. He wouldn't die now. Things were different with Gerard.

“Hey I’m gonna go refill these jars,” Frank said, getting up and walking out of the door. Gerard watched him leave and turned back to his own pack. He debated whether he should bring a comic with him, then decided no, if he needed entertainment he could always turn to Frank. He threw in a few baggies of food and a hunting knife, along with a metal bottle he had filled with water. The trip wouldn't be too long, maybe a week total. Plus he knew every place you could find water on the trail, having made it so many times.

Frank returned and finished packing his bag, then slung it over his shoulder. He had now changed back into his usual clothes, they had dried fully over night, and was ready to set out again. This was, after all, what he did best. Or at least what he had the most experience in. Gerard turned to him and smiled.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” Show swung around the door frame and into view.

“You just had to leave as soon as I came back, huh? I see how it is,” they said, a pout forming on their lips. Gerard tilted his head and stepped forward, pulling them into a hug.

“I’m sorry Show, you know I’ve been planning this for a while now. It’s your fault for coming back so late,” Gerard said into their shoulder, sounding almost like a mother chastising their son. They pulled apart and glanced at Frank, who stood awkwardly with his hands behind his back. 

“You’re going too?” Show asked. Frank nodded shyly. “Good.” Show gave one last sad look to Gerard, placing their hand on their arm for a moment, before walking out the door and retiring to their own room. Gerard took Frank’s hand and pulled him out of the doorway. He stopped briefly in the main house to shout a goodbye to D and Cola, then they were on their way. Back out into the open desert, though it wasn't nearly as deadly this time. Gerard hummed as the two walked side by side, kicking up dust behind them. The house steadily disappeared behind them, fading into the horizon until it was just them and the wide sky.

“So… where are we going?” Frank said. Gerard looked away.

“Uh, you may not be so excited about this. You see, well, we’re going to Bat City.” He chanced a quick glance at Frank, trying to interpret the man’s emotions, though he didn't look too angry. Frank almost exploded with fear and anxiety.

“Bat City? Why the hell are we going there?” Frank wrinkled his nose up in disgust, he hadn't been back there in years, he’d barely even been close to the awful place since he left it originally.

“I know, I know, but I have an insider there. She gives me insight into everything BLI is sticking their nose into. It’s really helpful actually.”

“But what does that do for you? Why do you need that information?” Frank asked. Gerard’s face hardened as he looked straight forward.

“Because I intend to fight back. D and Cola do so much to keep everyone motivated and fighting back, and I just hang off of that. Even Show Pony has a job as a messenger. I wanna do something and I might as well go for it. I’m gonna tear those motherfuckers down from the very core.” Gerard’s voice steadily grew louder and more forceful, it was something he had spent hours debating, and countless months putting into place. He was still so far from making any real progress, but he wouldn't give up, not for anything. What was a rebellion without any rebels? He had to work fast too, because the number of kids in the zone was steadily decreasing, picked off gradually by dracs and scarecrows and the hardships that came with the life outside of Bat City. In a way, it was terrifying.

Frank continued to stare at Gerard for a minute after he had stopped talking. It was the last thing he could have expected to come out of his mouth, but apparently his life was just full of surprises. He thought about what had been implied and grinned evilly, oh he was definitely liked the sound of that. At this point in his life, he was ready to raise some hell. Gerard finally snapped out of his own thoughts, realizing that Frank had yet to say anything, and caught Frank’s eyes. The fire in them alone was enough to calm his nerves and tell him he was not alone in this, but he wanted to hear it outright.

“You in?”

“Fuck yeah, man, I was born to kick some BLI ass,” Frank said, raising his hand and high-fiving him excitedly. Somehow, Gerard had found someone just as crazy as him. “So, what’s the plan then?” Gerard shrugged.

“Not really sure on that front yet. I guess I’m waiting for a good bit of information to spark something.” Frank nodded. Not the best way to start a mission, but it would do. Frank wasn’t fond of plans anyways, he much preferred to just wing it.

Frank started counting his steps again to pass the time, only this time, he made sure he wasn’t saying them out loud. He thought that Gerard and him were on good enough terms, but he didn’t want to test that theory by annoying the hell out of him. Not yet, at least. He was also starting to realize that life with a partner was so much better than being alone. He couldn’t put into words how much easier it truly was, it was difficult to believe he had wasted so many years alone.

“Hey Gerard,”

“Yeah?”

“You ever think about the sky?”

“What about it?” Gerard threw him a confused look.

“It’s just nice,” Frank said, smiling widely. Sometimes he liked to remind himself he had someone to talk to. Gerard shook his head and laughed.

“Very blue,” he said. Frank nodded.

“Yes, very blue. Almost too blue.”

“Lack of clouds.”

“Mm, if I look at it for too long I might think it was the ocean,” Frank said. He scratched his chin, pretending to be thinking deeply. The two burst out laughing at their own stupidity. Gerard moved closer and purposefully bumped his shoulder. Frank loved it when he made Gerard laugh, the light feeling in his chest that spread through his body every time was like a drug.

They walked for the majority of the day. Frank introduced Gerard to some of his favorite traveling games, like the ABC game using abandoned signs and stores or first person to see five birds wins. They didn’t seem as fun when he explained them out loud, but Gerard played along anyways. When night time hit, they holed up in a broken down house of a nearby slum town. It was kind of disgusting, but such was the life in the zones. Zone 6 was full of slum towns like this, and was hot as all hell. 

There wasn’t any food in the place, but there was a dusty bed that they resorted to using. Frank pushed all thoughts of people dying in this bed out of his mind, and forced himself to sleep in it. It was easier with Gerard, as everything was. He felt so comfortable around him, like he would protect him or something. It had been a long time, but he didn’t think he had ever felt quite this way with anyone else he had ever met or traveled with. Maybe in the early days years and years ago or in his youth, but certainly not when he joined large groups of people he didn’t know, and that was most of the time. They were easy to find and easy to keep up with, but frustrating in the social department. 

Gerard murmured something in his sleep, which reminded Frank that he should probably stop thinking so much and do the same. Easier said than done.

-

It took them less time than Frank hoped to get to Battery City. He wasn’t ready to face the city yet. The place where he had grown up. The memories of childhood bubbled up in him as the outline on the horizon floated closer and closer. He saw his dad, the day he left and never came back. Crayon drawings. Heard the static in the headphones. His mom cry when she thought he wasn’t looking. He smelled her sweet perfume and the too-strong stuff the woman who had come to replace her wore. He didn’t even notice that Gerard had stopped walking.

“Frank?” He stopped walking and turned around. Gerard looked confused but didn’t ask. “We should wait to get any closer.” Frank nodded and walked back to him.

“How are we getting in?” He asked. He took a seat in the sand and Gerard sat in front of him. The wind blew softly through his hair, and moonlight glossed his pale skin. Frank always wondered how he maintained such fair skin in the desert. 

“Like any city, Bat City produces waste. And this waste has to get out somehow. That’s how we’re getting in- there’s a hole in the fencing to let the sludge through.”

“We’re going in through the sewer?” Frank grimaced.

“Essentially, yes. Though we won’t have to touch it, the fencing around it can be pulled up.”

“And what about guards?”

“I’ve never had a problem with guards, they don’t check there very often.” He frowned. “I don’t really know why.”

“Well, lucky for us,” Frank said. Gerard grinned at him.

“Yeah.” A cold air touched them and Gerard shivered.

“Cold?” He nodded. Gerard pulled a blanket out of his bag, it was brown and matted, but looked comfy all the same. He unfurled it and placed it over himself, then looked up at Frank.

“Come here.” He motioned next to him. When Frank scooted closer he moved it over the both of them. “It’ll be easier to stay warm together. I’ll take first watch.”

Frank was acutely aware of Gerard’s leg touching his just barely and for a brief second he wondered if he should move away. He decided against it, and noticed that Gerard didn’t move either. He laid down and settled into the sand, the heat of their bodies quickly making him sleepy. The sand was still warm from the day and cradled his exhausted body, guiding it easily to rest.

When he awoke next it was morning, and Gerard was fast asleep next to him. His eyes widened and he glanced around wildly, but no one was around them. None of their stuff seemed to be gone, either. He let out a breath and chuckled. Gerard must have fallen asleep on watch, they were lucky. Frank watched him sleep for a minute. This was the only time he had ever seen Gerard make a mistake, all this time he had thought the man was incapable of making them, and yet he had. Right next to him. 

The sun rose over the horizon with its entourage of hazy purple and rose. The morning light graced Frank’s skin and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, admiring the light behind his eyes. In and out. When he opened his eyes again, Gerard’s were peering back at him. There was something unfamiliar in them, a message he couldn’t quite read. 

“I fell asleep,” Gerard said, it was a statement but also an apology.

“Yeah. But we’re still alive.” This was Frank’s way of accepting the apology, and they talked about it no longer.

They would reach the outskirts of Bat city by nightfall, and Gerard said that was the best time to get in. A long day lay ahead.

-

They entered into Bat City an hour after dark, pulling rusted metal back and squeezing in between sharp fencing and grimy water. The waste Battery City put out looked radioactive. It was vile- chunky, greenish-grey, and thick. Frank couldn’t see where it went, but he was willing to bet it was dumped somewhere into the desert. He wondered what kind of mutants might hang out around there, and made a mental note to check it out one day. 

They moved with only the dim light of the waning moon. Past the fencing, once they had clambered through, was the lower levels of Bat City. This was where droids and delinquents hung out. Gerard walked first, flawlessly fitting into the group. He sauntered cat-like past porno droids with their bright colored hair and bared his teeth at anyone who reached out. Frank slunk behind in his shadow, drawing little attention. There were signs and billboards everywhere, most of which were darkly smeared across the white surface. Almost every one of them read “Have a better day!”. Frank cringed away and swallowed the painful memories threatening to rise. The place teemed with propaganda. 

Gerard turned down a dark, grimy alley way. Frank was reluctant, but followed anyways. He kept his hand hovered above his blaster and moved slowly, crouched down slightly. Gerard looked back at him and motioned for him to stop as he peeked around the next corner. It was hard to see, forcing Frank to rely mostly on intuition and hearing. He thought it would be a hinderance, but in this case, it actually helped him.

He heard the soft steps approaching behind him way before he would have otherwise, and shifted silently to look behind him. It was pitch black. He didn’t know if the other person had already seen him, but surely they had seen Gerard, who was completely exposed by the light of the street. Frank felt the presence creep slowly towards him. In the moment Gerard turned to beckon Frank forward, the attacker froze right next to him. 

Frank lept, surprising the person and quickly disarming him. He held him in a choke hold, blaster jabbed into his chin, and shoved him forward for Gerard to see. Gerard looked on in disbelief. It was just a droid, but no one was supposed to see them. Even just a droid could jeopardize everything, could get them caught, and Frank would rather die than be caught. There could be no loose ends. Which is why Frank didn’t even think before pulling the trigger on his blaster. Frank tossed the droid away like a dirty shirt to the floor and walked towards Gerard. 

Gerard said nothing, his face blank. Then he turned and led him out onto the street. It wasn’t much further from there. They didn’t go to the front door, that was far too obvious. Instead they crawled in between the houses and Gerard tapped on the window. A minute later a woman opened the window and stuck her head out. A smile spread across her face when she looked at Gerard, then she saw Frank and her hand blurred down and then back up, this time a blaster in hand. Frank froze.

“He’s with me.” She frowned, but disappeared behind the window once again. Gerard clasped his hands together to lift Frank up to the window. Once in the house, he was face to face with the woman. This time she had cleared the anger from her eyes, however the distrust was still present. Frank averted his eyes and busied himself with helping Gerard up. As soon as he was in the woman rushed forward and hugged him tightly. Frank picked anxiously at his fingernails, he didn’t want to be here anymore.

“Gerard,” she said softly. Eventually they broke apart. A huge grin covered Gerard’s face when he pulled away.

“Frank,” he said. “This is Lindsey.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Frank said, trying to be polite. Lindsey eyed him suspiciously.

“And you,” she said. “Come on, we have important things to talk about.” She turned and left. We followed her into the kitchen. Gerard leaned back onto the counter.

“Where’s Jamia?” 

“She’s asleep. I’ll wake her, wait here.” She left the room and Gerard looked toward Frank. He noticed the shift in him immediately.

“Are you okay?”

“I shouldn’t be here,” he said. Gerard shook his head.

“She’s like that with everyone but Jamia and I. Don’t let it get to you.” He took a step towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I want you here.”

Lindsey returned with another woman following her. Both had jet black hair and bags under their eyes, however Jamia gave off a much less hostile aura than Lindsey. She even grinned when she saw him.

“Who’s this?” She said cheerily. 

“Frank,” Frank said. She smiled warmly at him and looked at Gerard.

“Where’d you find this one, huh? He’s cute.” Frank blushed profusely, but Gerard only laughed.

“Scooped him up in the zones a couple days ago.”

“A couple days? You’ve only known him for a couple days?” Lindsey suddenly look furious.

“Well… yeah.” Gerard scratched the back of his head. 

“And you brought him to my house!” She gave him a looked that screamed ‘you are so dead you fucking idiot’. 

“Hey, look. He’s the closest friend I’ve ever had, okay? I trust him.” Frank was taken aback by the statement, but still it sent a flutter through his body. 

“You know Gerard, Lynz, he doesn’t trust many people. If he likes the kid, so do I,” Jamia said. Lindsey wasn’t convinced.

“I know my word means nothing to you, but I swear to you I would never help BLI. As a matter of fact, I’m going to do everything in my power to end them,” Frank said. He looked her dead in the eyes while saying it. She backed down, but didn’t take her eyes off of him for more than a few minutes at a time.

“We don’t have time for this,” Lindsey said.

“What info do you have?” Gerard said.

“There’s a new scarecrow in town. The best ever, they say. His name is Korse and I want you to stay as far the hell away from him as you can, or you won’t make it back alive. I can promise you that.” Frank gulped.

“Noted,” Gerard said. He didn’t seemed fazed in the slightest.

“Another thing, people are whispering about a girl. A young one, thrown out into the zones.”

“Thrown out?”

“Yes.” BLI never purposefully put anyone out into the zones, that made no sense. The only way to get there was to escape, they kept people in not let them out. Everyone was silent for a moment. “Jamia and I have asked around, but no one knows anything else about it and we were starting to look suspicious.”

“That’s so odd.” Gerard looked at Frank. “Have you ever heard of that?”

“No.” He shook his head violently. 

“Neither have we, that’s why it’s so interesting,” Jamia said, chiming in. Frank caught her eye and smiled shyly.

“We’ll check it out. Anything else?” 

“Well… there is one more thing.” Lindsey looked over at Jamia. She seemed uncomfortable. Jamia cleared her throat and looked to Gerard.

“It’s about your brother,” she said. Gerard’s eyes widened and he stood up straight.

“Mikey?”

“He’s alive.” Gerard let a breath out slowly.

“Alive.” He put a hand on the counter to steady himself. Frank and Lindsey shifted closer to him without thinking. Frank racked his brain for everything he could remember about his brother. He was younger and he escaped with Gerard. That was it. 

“How do you know?” Frank asked the question on Gerard’s lips. Lindsey cringed.

“Someone sold him out to BLI. He’s in zone five, north of Bug’s Bucket, but not for long.” Gerard stiffened.

“How soon will they get to him?”

“He’s not high priority right now. I’d say a few days, maybe more if you’re lucky. We just got the news.”

“Why would they go all the way out to zone five for one guy?” Frank asked. Lindsey slowly turned to look at him.

“He’s escaped the city twice now, and this time he took out a couple dracs. They can’t let people like that exist, it would be a detriment to their credibility” Frank’s eyes widened. That in itself was pretty impressive. He wondered what Gerard’s brother looked like, how similar they were. 

Lindsey and Jamia excused themselves to return to bed, and Gerard showed him the bed he usually slept in. Frank thought curiously about why they had two beds, but only slept in one. He supposed he wasn’t in a position to judge, though, since he had been sharing a bed with a man for a little over a week now. If BLI found out though, there would be terrible consequences for them. Something about the conversation with Lindsey and Jamia hadn’t sat right with Frank. It had reminded him of how little he knew about Gerard, how short their time had been together.

“Why did you bring me along?” Gerard had not been expecting the question and it took his groggy and overwhelmed mind a long minute to understand. When he didn’t respond Frank continued. “You don’t even know me.”

“Do you really believe that?” His face changed when he said it. Frank looked him deep in the eyes and shook his head.

“See the thing is, I know you do. I just don’t know how it’s possible.” Gerard grinned below him.

“Who’s to say what’s possible, Frank?”

-

Gerard woke up first, but didn't move to get up. There was a lot to think about this morning. Number one priority was his brother. He had to get to him quickly, if they really pushed it they could make it to him in three days. Three days and a lot of prayers to Gods that didn’t exist that they would reach Mikey first. It was risky, that was for sure, but it was his brother! His brother whom he had thought was dead for the past two years. Turns out the motherfucker was just avoiding him.

It took Frank waking up to snap him out of his thoughts. Frank turned around in bed to face him, checking to see if he was awake, and Gerard opened his eyes. They didn’t say anything for what felt like a long time. Then finally Frank broke the silence.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I have to find Mikey.”

“I know. I’m going with you.” They were so close their warmth breath mingled between them. They didn’t need to share words, Gerard’s eyes said it all. 

A knock on the door.

“If you guys aren’t already awake, you should be!” Lindsey said through the door. Gerard rolled his eyes and Frank giggled. The scent of breakfast drifted into the room and Frank’s eyes widened. Food! He jumped out of bed and was about to run into the kitchen, but paused at the door, remembering where they were. It seemed he could go nowhere recently without Gerard for company, but that was only because he didn’t know anyone that Gerard didn’t. He was alone, remember? Well, not anymore, but still.

Gerard looked at him curiously as he waited like a puppy behind the door.

“You don't need to wait for me, you know that right?” Frank blushed deeply, but didn’t comment. Gerard walked out the door, Frank following right behind him. Jamia wore an apron and was cooking eggs and bacon. She smiled at Frank and handed him a plate, admiring the childish excitement on his face. She handed a plate to Gerard as well.

“I thought you two deserved a nice meal,” she said. She had eyes that held so much tenderness even a serial killer would be kind to her and moved smooth as the wind. 

“You need to leave soon,” Lindsey said. The difference between the two could not be starker, but Frank could tell by the way she interacted with Jamia and Gerard that there was a softness to her as well. She showed her affection in swift movements and blunt statements. She only glanced at Frank once, and even then he saw her nose scrunch up angrily. He tried not to take her major trust issues personally. For some reason, watching her next to Gerard made his stomach drop and a feeling of ache rise in him.

If wasn’t long until they left the place. It was much harder to get out of Bat city during the day, but it wasn’t impossible. In fact, Frank had a theory that BLI often let people escape. What use did a city have for people that wouldn’t conform when their entire philosophy revolved around conformity? It was more than convenient when the draculoids on patrol turned their backs and walked the other way when a kid no older than 15 made a run for it. It was purposeful. Frank didn’t like to imagine the idea that BLI knew exactly what was happening in every corner of their city at all times, especially not while he was in it, but it seemed pretty likely. 

They returned to the cracked fence with the stream of sludge running through it and slipped out. Just like that. Far too easy. Frank walked away with the unshakable feeling that someone was watching him.

-

“I’ll take first watch,” Frank said. They had made it all the way into Zone 2, a place just as starkly empty as Zone 1. The sun was just dipping below the horizon and the sky looked beautiful, painted with smooth deep blues and soft oranges. Watching the sun set was the best part of every day for Frank. When he was on his own, it was one of the only times he felt alive, the only time he liked his life. He loved the way the colors blended together and the way the underside of the clouds dripped with color. 

Gerard settled down next to him and curled up on his pack, tucking the blanket around both of their legs. Frank watched the sun sink and the moon rise silently. The stars slowly blinked into reality. It always surprised him how many stars were actually in the sky. Somehow he always expected there to be less. He thought he could see the whole galaxy from his spot in the desert. They were the sky’s freckles, sparkling across its face and lighting up the night. Frank looked down at his hand, noticing the way the moon gleamed on his skin and gave it a silver hue. 

Then he looked over at Gerard, who was now asleep. His skin was the same midnight blue and he looked peaceful in his sleep. Frank noticed for perhaps the first time since they met that Gerard was actually really attractive. Not in the traditional sense, but in much softer way. Almost feminine. His features were sharp and his long, blood red hair fell like daggers around his face, yet somehow he was very pretty. It surprised Frank to think about.

When he was awake Gerard was a force to be reckoned with. Bold and bright. He brought an air of sarcasm with him, like he knew a lot about the world, and the things he didn’t know he didn’t care about. There was a depth in him you could see immediately, could sense on him. He wasn’t a person anyone really wanted to mess with. Frank didn’t think anyone felt that way about him. He was smaller and chattier. Less mysterious. The real world scared him and had broken him down, made him quieter, but even so he knew he was not like Gerard. No one was.

Frank passed the next few hours by making pictures out of the stars. When he was a child his mother used to show him images in the night sky- constellations, she had called them. Constellations. He didn’t really remember the ones she pointed out to him, but instead made his own up. There was a blaster in the sky, shooting the moon. And over there was a zombie head. Below that was an electric guitar, and-

“Frank?” Gerard rolled onto his stomach and placed a hand on Frank’s knee. Frank felt the warmth of his skin even through his jeans.

“Yeah?”

“How long has it been?” Frank shrugged. “I’ll take over.”

He sat up and moved to switch spots with Frank. Frank laid down. He wasn’t tired until he closed his eyes. Before he drifted into the abyss he felt fingers comb through his hair tenderly and brush it to the side, though he wouldn’t remember it in the morning.

Gerard sighed deeply into the cool night air. He passed his time in a much different manner. He thought about death and destruction, his brother and the girl, and how the hell they were gonna survive. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards at the soft sounds of Frank sleeping. The boy had a habit of snoring softly, he had noticed.


	5. Glass Shards for the Soul

“So this one time,” Frank said. “I was at a party in this old house in zone 4 with about 100 other people, and it was midday but everyone had been drinking since dawn. That was when the dracs stormed in, and by the amount of them we knew it was something fierce. They started ghosting people left and right. The guy next to me was on the ground in a second bleeding out, so I sobered up real quick.

“I ducked under the bar and grabbed a bottle of alcohol and my lighter, then I tore a piece of my shirt off and tied it to the nose of the bottle. I lit the fabric on fire and tossed that fucker as far as it would go. It was incredible! Set the whole place on fire. I got the hell out of there after that, the scarecrows descended and it was chaos, but I managed to sneak away somehow.” Gerard looked at him in disbelief.

“That is so dangerous,” he said. “I can’t believe I never thought of that!” 

“I really should be dead by now.” Frank laughed and Gerard shook his head.

“Ok, my turn. When I first got out of Bat city and was still with Mikey, there was this local guru who claimed he had met the Phoenix Witch. His called himself Chicken Head, because apparently the witch had told him if he carried the beheaded skull of a chicken around with him at all times he would never die. So naturally, we had to go check this dude out. He lived in zone 6, so it was hotter than the skin on a wavehead three weeks in. Coulda caught on fire just from walking there. 

“So anyways, we go to see this Chicken Head, and he’s dressed fully in animal print, and his hair is cut at all different lengths. It’s dyed all different colors- pink, green, orange, you name it. He’s got tattoos all over his face and arms, and two different colored eyes. He’s terrifying to say the least, but we walk up to him anyways because we’ve made it all this way and as soon as he sees us he screams and falls to his knees. Then he starts shouting ‘No! No! Please, don’t take me, don’t take me.’ I’m confused, and so is Mikey, so we stop dead in our tracks and that’s when we feel it. 

"A chill from the bottom of our feet to the top of our heads, a feeling like an itch you can’t scratch, and the world starts to look different. Suddenly everything is wavy and shaded in multicolored lines. Things float and shift and when I look at my hand, it’s shaded like I stepped into a shadow even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Mikey swore he saw a figure cloaked in black flicker in and out of existence. We ran after that and I’ve never seen anything like it since.“

Frank couldn’t figure out what to say. He just stared helplessly at the other man, mouth slightly ajar and eyes searching for a hint of humor on his face. He had to be pranking him right? Frank believed in the paranormal alright, but this was a new level of psychedelic.

“Are you being real with me?” Gerard looked offended.

“Why would I make that up?”

“I don’t know, it just sounds…”

“Crazy?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought of all people you would believe me,” Gerard said, his voice grew quieter as the sentence went on, as if he was embarrassed to finish it. Frank paused.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing, just- you’re different, Frank.”

“I believe you,” he said uneasily, and Gerard’s face lit up. Frank didn’t know it, but Gerard had only told a handful of people that story, for fear of being perceived as mad. It wasn’t just a ghost story to him, but actually a really important moment in his life. One that had led him on the path that took Mikey away from him.

It lingered in the back of Frank’s mind all day, a tick on the backside of his brain. The way Gerard had described the world changing before his eyes and the dark figure haunted him for the rest of the day and through the night. In the darkness, he saw things that didn’t exist, and trembled in fear of whatever they might run into. His mind kept wandering off into the unending blackness and threatening to never come back, until he reached for the only thing he knew that kept him grounded. He didn’t know when he had grabbed Gerard’s hand, or how long he held it, but the other’s rough palm tethered him to reality and kept the demons at bay until they stopped for a few hours of rest. 

Neither of them bothered to stay up and keep watch, they were too tired to function that way anymore. Instead they collapsed into each other and fell asleep in a tangle of arms and legs. A steady heartbeat drummed Frank past the brink of consciousness and into sleep.

-

Gerard peeled himself away from Frank a couple hours later. He wondered if it was his story that had set him so on edge and felt guilty. If so, it had been worth it, at least. He didn’t mind being close to Frank, in fact he wished it were that way every night, though he was reluctant to admit it. Frank mumbled in his sleep and reach an arm out for him, but it slapped on empty ground. Gerard felt sorry that he had moved, and even sorrier that he had to wake him.

He let him sleep for a few more minutes before shaking him awake. Frank rubbed his eyes, feeling like dirt had somehow seeped into every pore on his body. He groaned loudly and stretched. It had only been a few hours since they went to bed and the ache in their bones was still there. They were only a day away from their destination, though, having just crossed over into Zone 4 last night. 

Gerard handed Frank one of the cans of food Jamia had stuffed their pack with. He grimaced, the food in the cans was always disgusting to look at and eat. The label on it read simply ‘Beef’ but the inside looked like anything but beef. Gerard laughed at him when he noticed he was staring at the can.

“Surely you’ve eaten worse out here?” Gerard said. 

Frank grimaced and nodded remembering the time he once killed a rat and ate it. H was only reluctant to eat it because of the bad times it reminded him of. He dipped a spoon in and began eating the dark mush. Gerard sat quietly while they ate. He was thinking about what he would do when he saw his brother again, he wasn’t sure if Mikey even really wanted to see him. At least he was bringing him information that could save his life, so he couldn’t be too angry at him. He hoped it would even things out. Frank gagged and spit a chunk of bone out of his mouth. 

“Gross,” Gerard said.

“Ok, yeah. I think I’m done,” Frank said, tossing aside the can. Gerard finished his.

“We should reach Bug’s Bucket by tonight, and Mikey shortly after. We need to get to him before night fall and be far gone by dawn.”

“Alright,” Frank said, he stood up. If he had known this trip would be 20 hours of traveling and 4 of sleep for a week he would have thought twice before coming. He was quickly falling back into old habits and it was messing with his mental health. ‘We’re almost there’ he told himself ‘Just a little longer.’

However, he knew that this was what life outside of Bat City consisted of. It was always one thing or another, there was no home out here, just the run and the chase. If he expected to be a help to Gerard in fighting back, this was going to be his life for the rest of time. At least he had a cause to fight for and a mind of his own. With that Frank and Gerard began to walk once more.

The closer they got to Zone 5 the worse Gerard felt. His stomach ached and his heart beat fast. He wondered idly if he might pass out. When they finally crossed over into the zone he had to take a break, his anxiety getting the better of him. He stumbled a few paces away and heaved onto the ground. Vomit spilled from his mouth and mixed into the dusty earth.

Gerard wiped his mouth and flopped onto the ground on his back next to his own puke. It was so fucking hot out here and he felt so sick. Frank crept closer with wide eyes and sat cross-legged beside him. Gerard avoided his gaze, looking directly up into the blue sky until it hurt his eyes. A tear slipped out of the corner of his eye from the strain and the sand and the heat. His body was heavy, his mouth dry, and his stomach was still churning.

Frank took Gerard’s hand softly into his, rubbing the sweaty, chapped skin with his thumb. It was better not to talk, he decided. He pulled out their water from the backpack he was carrying and took his shirt off. He poured the water over it and rolled it up, then pressed the damp compress onto Gerard’s forehead. It was then that Gerard finally looked at him, his eyes full of gratitude and embarrassment, but most importantly- trust. Frank smiled hesitantly at him to tell that it was okay, how many times had Gerard done the same for him anyways?

“I can’t stop thinking about him,” he said.

“Mikey?” Gerard nodded. He didn’t feel like talking, but was hoping that it would make him feel less anxious.

“I haven’t seen him in so long. He probably hates me.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t.” Gerard closed his eyes. 

“Then why didn’t he come find me?”

“Gee, is there a reason he would hate you?” Gerard didn’t answer, he couldn’t. The words didn’t want to leave him, they were held back by chains he didn’t know how to break. They sat there for a few more minutes in silence before Gerard clambered to his feet wearily. They had to keep going. For the second day in a row the two travelled hand in hand. Eventually they would realize all of life was a lot better hand in hand.

-

Mikey Way was lounging in a beach chair, taking in the heat and drinking a flat soda, when he heard feet approaching him. At first he didn’t think anything of it, then he was able to distinguish two sets of feet and that worried him a little. Still, it wasn’t enough for him to take his sunglasses off or even open up his eyes. It was enough for his hand to twitch towards his blaster though, which was settled snuggly into the holster on his hip. The footsteps stopped a couple feet behind him, and he let out a loud sigh.

“Who are you and what do you want?” He said, obviously annoyed. He heard a sharp intake of breath and raised his eyebrows. 

“Mikey?” That name. Mikey flew out of the chair and had his blaster pointed at the man in a second flat. Then he faltered. A smirk spread slowly across his lips and he slipped his blaster back into place.

“My brother has red hair now,” he said. Gerard looked uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other and his skin a sickly pale despite the heat. He looked to the guy standing next to him, he had shoulder length greasy, black hair and was short. He was scruffier than Gerard, but came across as more puppy dog like. He must have noticed Mikey staring at him, because he spoke up then.

“Fun Ghoul,” he said.

“Kobra Kid,” Mikey said, pointedly sending a glare towards Gerard. “Well! Now that introductions are through, why are you here?”

Gerard didn’t open his mouth to speak so Frank took over. Maybe it was Mikey’s nonchalant energy or the fact that he was Gerard’s brother, but he didn’t feel shy at all around him.

“You’ve got quite the bounty on your head, pretty impressive actually. I’d love to hear the story of how you made it out a second time, but unfortunately we’re going to have company pretty soon here.” Mikey frowned and swore, then turned on his heel and stormed past.

“Ray!” He shouted. He stepped over the broken glass window of the shop and began digging around for his stuff. “Ray! We gotta go!”

Frank watched on in confusion then turned to Gerard. He grabbed him lightly by the shoulders and shook them. The other’s eyes shifted to him.

“Get it together,” he said softly. Gerard nodded slowly, like he was submerged in water. Frank made a noise of frustration and grabbed his face. “Gerard. Wake the fuck up.”

Something caught Frank’s eye behind Gerard’s shoulder. He glanced over at the big cloud of dirt rising into the air and his breathing stopped. At the point where it touched the ground was a small dot rapidly approaching. 

A man with big dark curls bounded out of the abandoned store front followed by Mikey, who had a suitcase of stuff and something dangling around his wrist. 

“Follow me, crash queens!” Gerard and Frank ran after them, following them behind the place. There was a car parked there and they sprinted towards it. Mikey pulled the sheet off it and threw it into the backseat, revealing an old, white mustang with a spider spray painted across the hood. Frank hadn’t seen a car in a few years, most of them had died in the heat and desert, but a few people still had them. There were roads that weaved throughout the zones, but mostly they remained unused since they were almost always drac traps. 

“Get in!” Ray said, sliding into the passenger seat while Mikey started the car. Frank and Gerard tumbled into the back seat and they tore off into the horizon in the opposite direction of the BLI car. Classic rock music blasted from the radio and wind whipped through their hair sending it in every direction. Frank smiled widely and looked over at Gerard bumping his arm and giggling. Gerard returned the gesture and relaxed into his seat. 

-

Though driving was the quickest mode of transportation, it was not the most inconspicuous. A couple hours later, once the sun hit where the sky meets the earth, Mikey pulled the car over and stashed it in an empty garage. He covered it with the same sheet as before. They couldn’t see the car in the distance anymore, but it was most likely following their dust trail, therefore Mikey suggested that they continue on foot. 

“It was fun while it lasted,” Frank said. Mikey sidled up next to him with his signature Cheshire smile.

“Pretty nice, huh? Got us all the way out of Bat City.” He slapped his hand down on the top of the car. 

“Fugitives with style,” Ray said. Frank cocked his head and looked at him. Gerard hadn’t said anything about his brother having a companion. The man with the curly afro stepped forward and reached a hand out. He wore all black topped off with a black jean jacket covered in patches and an American flag on the back. “Jet Star. Pleased to meet ya.”

“Fun Ghoul.” Frank shook his hand. “You escaped from Bat city too?” They started walking at a 90 degree angle from the direction they had arrived. By the time BLI had caught up to them their tracks would be blown over by the sand and they would be long gone. Mikey only hoped they didn’t damage his car. He would be back for it in any case.

“Yeah! Good ole Kobra here and I met there. They captured him in a raid, me in car crash.” He chuckled. “Kobra won’t let me drive. We started talking in the back of the truck they use to transport lots of people for… you know and devised a plan to escape.”

“I thought they usually just converted you on the spot?” Frank asked. Ray shook his head.

“Nah, sometimes there’s too many of us and they don’t have enough masks. So they ship us off to the city where they can do it properly. I hear if they go through the full process they can make you into a Battery City native again.” Frank’s eyes widened and he shifted closer to Gerard. He noticed that Gerard hadn’t said a word in the last couple of hours and when he looked over he caught him looking at Mikey again. He saw Frank looking at him and quickly diverted his eyes to give him a short smile.

“It’s a great story really,” Mikey said, he had been leading the group and turned back to address Frank. “I was thinking, I always used to see the cars that dracs used on the streets and I’m a pretty good mechanic these days. So I was like ’what if I could get my hands on one of these cars and book it out of the city?’ I told Jet my plan and he said it was raw genius.”

“Wildest gear-head I know! Devil’s strong in that one.” Ray bellowed with laughter and jabbed a thumb at Mikey. Frank thought he had a nice laugh, one that was loud and from the belly. 

-

They arrived at the rest stop a few clicks after sundown. Surprisingly, it was in good shape, meaning someone had done some work on it and was looking after it. There were fresh water jugs and small snacks, as well as a radio and bedroom. A TV was sat in front of a couch in the main room, but it didn’t appear to be working. The four men gulped down some water and stripped to all but their underwear. One of those big tubs of water usually used for livestock was placed on the side of the house and filled with grey water. Frank dunked his clothes into the water a few times then wrung them out and left them to dry on the porch. This was the best they had for getting clean, if people were lucky they would have soap, but none of them did. 

“We can get clean properly when we get back to the Dr’s Office,” Gerard said.

“Who said we’re going there?” Mikey asked. Gerard’s head shot up to look at him.

“I did.” 

“Well, I didn’t. Maybe we want to go somewhere else.” Mikey motioned towards Ray.

“Ray,” Gerard said cooly. “We live at Dr. D’s station. We need a place to recoup. Would you like to join us?”

“Sure would!” Ray said. A cheesy smile filled his face. Mikey shot him a look.

“Huh. Now that I think about it, that sounds like a great idea. Thanks Gerard,” Mikey said. He smiled and laughed the whole thing off, like he didn’t have a care in the world. Maybe he didn’t. Frank didn’t say a word, but when Gerard’s eyes met his he felt seen anyways.

“There’s only one bed. Who’s taking the bed, who’s taking the couch, and who’s taking the floor?” Mikey asked. 

“Frank and I are used to sharing a bed-“

“Yeah, yeah. Everybody is.” 

“You can have it then,” Gerard said, not bothering to fight again already. He had a bed back at D’s anyways. Mikey pointed at Ray then at the bedroom and disappeared behind the doorway. 

“Night bitches!” Ray called behind him. They didn’t bother shutting the door and Frank could hear them chatting softly in the other room. He turned to Gerard and sighed. He was fairly certain he would be getting the floor, at least he was used to it. His back hurt pretty bad though.

“Come here.” Gerard waved him over. “Maybe its a sofa-bed.” It was not a sofa bed. 

“Well, um. Do you… Should I?” Gerard stumbled over his words. Frank rolled his eyes.

“Get on the couch, asshole.” Gerard breathed with relief and ran a hand through his hair, but didn’t say anything. He laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling, while Frank sprawled out at his feet. Somehow Frank fell asleep before Gerard, he really was used to sleeping in uncomfortable places. Gerard almost laughed when he realized the guy on the floor was knocked out and he wasn’t, but he couldn’t blame himself. He had a lot on his mind. When he first saw his brother, he hadn’t known how to act. Mikey was a completely different person. It was hard to say what exactly had changed, but he was more confident and carefree. He had changed his appearance too. The Mikey from before would never have walked around in a bright, patterned yellow shirt and red leather jacket, but somehow he looked good in it. It fit his new personality well. He was a lot cooler than Gerard remember that was for sure.

A few hours of no sleep and Gerard decided he was over it. He had an idea. He rolled over and looked at Frank beside him on the floor, biting his lip. He grinned and quietly got up then crept to his side.

Frank was in the middle of a dream about red cows that lived beneath the earth when he felt a tap on his shoulder. His eyes shot open and were immediately assaulted by Gerard’s face a couple inches away. He flinched and moved his hand to push him away, but paused instead leaving his hand firmly on his chest. Gerard raised his eyebrows and tilted his chin down. 

“Come with me,” he said softly, then got up and walked silently out the front door. Frank was confused but followed all the same, finding the other standing outside in the night air.

“What are we doing?” Frank asked.

“Don’t ask questions.” Frank scrunched up his face at that. Gerard started walking and gestured with his head for the other to come with him. They walked until suddenly the ground suddenly changed. The sand here was a different color, but not in a way that Frank really understood. It was reflective and sparkled underneath his feet. A few minutes later Gerard stopped.

“This- is my favorite place in Zone 5.” He lifted his arm and gestured outwards.

“What is this, Gerard?” Gerard knelt down and picked up a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers.

“It’s glass.”

“Glass?”

“A long time ago there used to be a museum with huge glass windows here. It was demolished by BLI during the Analog Wars and the debris was hauled away. All that’s left now is the glass shards that no one wanted to pick up. They’ve been ground so small and smooth that it makes the sand shine, but doesn’t cut skin anymore.

“Most people like coming here during the day, to see the sand glitter under the sunlight, but I like it better at night. The moonlight makes the sand look like it’s glowing.” Frank bent down and felt the sand in the same way Gerard had. He was right, it didn’t get stuck in his palm or slice his fingers, it simply fell like silk back into the dunes. He grabbed a handful and held it up, tilting his hand to watch it catch the light and shine. He shifted around to sit with his knees pulled up and Gerard joined him.

“What kind of museum was it?”

“Art.” 

“Do you think we could be sitting on famous artworks right now?” He put his chin on his knees. Gerard leaned back onto his arms.

“I suppose we could be.” Frank thought of all the paintings possibly scattered within the sand. Beneath his left hand was Frida Kahlo, his right Monet. Under his ass was Picasso. All nothing more than scraps of canvas and chips of dried paint.

“Somebody should excavate this someday, maybe there’s something to be saved beneath the sand.”

“Maybe. Not much would still be in one piece.”

“Still, we oughta give it a chance, no?” Gerard smiled at him.

“After we take down BLI, we’ll come back here and do it ourselves. How’s that sound?”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Only an hour had passed when they got back to the house, they did actually need sleep and Gerard had already wasted half the night awake. Frank moved to lay back down on the ground, but Gerard caught his arm and pulled him towards the couch. He wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t think it would help him fall asleep, but he knew it would. 

“Stay with me?” He asked. Frank’s eyes softened in a way Gerard had only seen a few times. The corners of his mouth lifted barely and he gazed at him in a wistful way. 

“Yeah.” Gerard laid back down on the couch and scooted back, leaving room for Frank to lay down beside him. The both faced outwards, Frank’s back to Gerard’s front. When he thought Frank was finally asleep, Gerard slid his arm over his side and let it hang lazily. He easily drifted off to sleep after that.

-

Mikey felt extremely well rested after a night in the bed and swung his legs over the edge. He yawned and stretched then threw a punch at Ray, whose mouth was hung open and drool was spilling over his bottom lip.

“Get up, sleepyhead.” 

“Hey! Aghh, I’m up.” Ray groaned and pushed Mikey’s back so that he fell off the bed. Mikey jumped to his feet and shoved Ray back down just as he was beginning to rise. He laughed and bounded out of the room, Ray chasing after him. He skidded to a stop when he saw the two figures on the couch, intertwined. He gave Ray a ‘look at this shit!’ face and nodded towards the couch. Ray followed his line and chuckled.

“Couple a side steppers,” he said, leaning in close to Mikey. Mikey punched him in the arm.

“No better ‘fuck you’ to BLI than that.” They both laughed and walked outside to put their (now dry) clothes on. 

Surprisingly, Frank hadn’t slept better in ages. Especially not since they had started their trek into the desert, but really not since his mother had curled in bed next to him as a child. There’s something incredibly soothing about sleeping within someone else’s arms. He didn’t open his eyes, but a smile took over his lips. Gerard’s fingers twitched and tickled his side and Frank’s hand slipped down and intertwined with his. He felt a gentle squeeze on his hand and squeezed back, then slowly drifted in and out of sleep again.

It wasn’t much longer before Gerard woke up and began to shift behind him. He pulled his arm away from Frank slowly and sat up. Frank breathed in deeply and opened his eyes, catching the other staring at his face. Frank yawned and Gerard chuckled.

“Mornin’,” he said. “You got a piece of hair sticking up.” He reached out and flattened it onto Frank’s head. Before Frank could say anything Mikey and Ray walked back into the house chatting loudly.

“They’re awake!” Mikey said.

“Finally, you two sure do like to sleep.” Gerard rolled his eyes at them.

“We barely slept in at all.”

“Well get up, we’re almost to Duck Harbor!”

“Duck Harbor? We’re going there?” Frank asked, his heartbeat suddenly picked up.

“Might as well, it’s just a hop, skip, and a leap down the road,” Ray said. Gerard looked earnestly into Frank’s eyes, knowing exactly why he was hesitant. Duck Harbor was a huge outdoor market. Hundreds of people went through there everyday, everything from toothpaste to sex toys were sold there. It was the biggest hub in all of the zones. It had been a major city before the Analog wars, and even though it was very different now it was just as full of life. People had set up permanent shops there and redecorated the buildings, there were even concerts every once in a while.

Frank had been there once, but it overwhelmed him and it was dangerous to go on his own. There were plenty of sketchy people who hung around the dark alleys and waited for unsuspecting targets. It was easier to avoid it, he could get everything he needed from other, smaller places. 

“I won’t leave your side, okay?” Gerard said. He spoke clearly, but quietly enough that only Frank would hear him. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Frank flashed him a fake smile. Being around so many people was nerve-wracking, but he knew he was being ridiculous. He had to get used to crowds again at some point. Frank and Gerard went to wash themselves off in the tub of water and put their clean clothes on again, or at least somewhat clean. 

Duck Harbor really wasn’t far away and the four arrived by noon. They saw it appear in the distance, a moving mass of flashy colors. Soon enough they could hear the din the market created, a mixture of music, yelling, singing, and just plain old chatter. All of it made Frank nervous, but he was determined not to show it. Though he did notice Gerard watching him out of the corner of his eye as they approached the place. It was laid out in a very odd manor, the first thing being the market stalls with the buildings in the back. The moment they walked in they were assaulted by merchants exclaiming about amazing prices and high quality wares. 

It was packed shoulder to shoulder. They would have to push to get passed the massive crowd. Ray and Mikey ran off in front of them, excitedly looking around at all the things they could buy. Frank forced himself to breathe normally as they passed groups of people milling around and walking out into the desert, but the second they were enveloped in the crowd itself he felt his vision pull away as though he were suddenly seeing himself from someone else’s eyes. He saw the horrified look on his face and the sweat streak down his brow. A touch on his elbow shook him back into his own body.

“Don’t stop moving,” Gerard said. He held him firmly by the arm and shoved him forward, nudging people out of the way with his other arm. People moved easily out of the way to let them through, not even bothering to look at them. Frank became suddenly aware of the fact that no one really gave a shit about them and somehow that made him feel a little better. He stood up straighter and focused on a point on the horizon and walked towards it with newfound purpose. He blocked every single person out and trusted Gerard to deal with them, all he could think about was making it to that point.

“Frank?” Gerard had stopped. Oh. He didn’t even notice they had left the thick of people behind. His face brightened and he looked up at Gerard.

“I did it.” He breathed out. Gerard gave him a gentle side hug.

“You did it.” It was just a little thing, but it felt big to Frank. 

“Thank you.” Gerard shook his head.

“It’s-“

“Yo! Guys, look!” Mikey shouted as he and Ray rejoined them. 

“We got matching helmets!” Ray held up a round, grey biker helmet and Mikey held up a similar one that was yellow with a black eye cover that read ‘GOOD LUCK’ in bold white letters across it. Frank burst out laughing.

“You won’t even be able to see out of that,” Gerard said, gesturing to Mikey’s.

“You don’t know me,” Mikey said, huffing. 

“There’s more cool masks and stuff over there, you guys should go check it out!” Ray said, he pointed to a relatively empty stall at the edge of the crowd. Frank looked at Gerard and shrugged. 

“Why not?” He said.

“Lunch?” Gerard asked the group.

“Meet us in that old diner in like 15?” They agreed then walked over to the merchant Ray had pointed out. There were small eye masks in every color hanging all over the place, and cardboard boxes full of larger plastic ones. The seller was a bald man who looked to be in his 40s and he greeted them with a toothless smile. Frank bent down and dug through the bins and Gerard wandered around the small space admiring the masks hanging. One of them caught his eye.

“What do you think about this?” He turned to Frank and held up a sturdy looking mask that was a striking yellow with a blue dot on each cheek and the forehead and black diamonds across the eye holes.

“Mad shiny, dude.” 

“How much?”

“$5 for you, pretty boy.” Gerard’s cheeks flushed and he snuck a glance at Frank, who was trying desperately to hold back laughter. 

“Why thank you, I’ll take it,” he said to the man. He slipped the mask on over his eyes and looked into the dust, cracked mirror leaning on the back of the register. 

“Oh!” Frank said, “I want this.” He held out a flexible Frankenstein mask that resembled one you might find in an old halloween store. It was boxy and a weird reddish brown color everywhere aside from the vibrant green buzzcut on top. Frank grinned from ear to ear- he loved it.

“$10.” 

“What, I don’t get a discount?” Frank said. 

“No.” Gerard laughed at him and leaned forward.

“I got it,” he said, and placed the money on the counter. As they walked away Gerard nudged Frank. “I think you’re cute.”

“Shut up.” Frank blushed and shook his head, unable to hide a smile. They walked past a shop that made Gerard stop. He shot Frank a devilish look. It was filled with clothing of all types- combat boots, jackets, patches, shirts, pants. 

“I think it’s time we got you some new clothes.” Frank’s eyes widened as Gerard grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him into the place. What was wrong with his ripped jeans and sweat stained grey T-shirt he had worn the entire trip? Then he remembered that 90% of his wardrobe were clothes he had stolen from Gerard.

The inside was dark and resembled a thrift shop in organization. Immediately Gerard dug into the jackets while Frank thumbed through the shirts.

“What about this?” Frank held up a black shirt with yellow sleeves with two black bands running across the arm. 

“That’s nice. Do you like this vest?” He pulled out an army green jacket that had the arms cut off of it. It had the same strange logo in the corner that Ray’s had.

“Yeah, I love it.” 

“Perfect, grab a pair of black jeans and go change while I pay.”

“Thanks, sugar daddy.” Frank winked at him as he whisked the clothes away and fled to the bathroom. Gerard paid the teller and waited by the door. Frank came back looking a little too good, as punctuated by the way Gerard stiffened and coughed to distract from his obvious surprise. 

“That- you look. I, uh, like it a lot.” Frank laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

“Get it all out, Gee.” Gerard rolled his eyes and shoved him out the door. They met back up with Ray and Mikey at the diner and slide into the booth across from them.

“What’s for lunch, boys?” Gerard asked. 

“It’s Mexican fusion! We got chicken tacos with barbecue and feta cheese.” Mikey grinned happily. Frank gave him a look of wonder.

“Did you say feta?”

“And barbecue?” 

“Sure did! Dig in.” Frank thought it would be worse than it actually was, but there was nothing like fast food in the zones. Even if the combos were atrocious.

-

Dr. D and Cola’s hideout was finally in sight. Frank let out a whoop and broke out into a run, excited to finally be home. Or at least what he hoped was his home. It was nice to have a home. The boys ran after him laughing and yelling and causing a ruckus. So much so that D and Cola both came outside to greet them.

“Well, howdy there Party Poison and Co. We weren’t expecting you to bring home a circus, ya crazy bastard.” Dr. D clapped Gerard on the back and snorted. Cola held his tongue, however. He didn’t believe his own eyes, even though it was perfectly clear in front of him. 

“Mikey,” he said. His eyes glistened and he threw himself around the younger man. Mikey stood still for a moment, then relaxed and hugged him back.

“Good to see you, Cola.” He let go and turned. “You too, D.”

“I wouldn’t have recognized ya in a crowd of two, Mikes. You’re a different man now!” Mikey looked at his feet and kicked the dirt, placing his hands in his pockets.

“Well, can’t be young forever.”

“Out here? Sure you can.” D turned to the others. “Nice to see you back, Ghoul. And who’s this?”

“Jet Star, at your service. I used to listen to your radio shows all the time back in the day.”

“Thank you for your service, Jet Star. Why don’t you come inside? I bet you boys are hungry.”

It was just after sunset, and they all were, so they went inside and pulled chairs around every side of the table and had the first of many family dinners. After a fulfilling meal, Frank was exhausted and more than content to just slip into bed and never wake up. Well, he actually did want to wake up, which was a surprise to him. In the past, he never really cared whether or not he woke up again, but now he actually had something to live for. People to live for.

Mikey slept in Show Pony’s bed that night, since they were out once again, and Ray took to the couch. It was no surprise to anyone that Frank would be sleeping in Gerard’s bed once again, and he was too tired to be anywhere near embarrassed about it. He was simply focused on getting there and passing the fuck out. Gerard caught him before he could, however.

“Not so fast, you need to shower.” Frank gave him the best puppy dog eyes he could and looked so sad it almost worked. Gerard shook his head and laughed.

“You’ll thank me tomorrow, now go.” He shoved him towards the bathroom.

“What about you?” Gerard raised his eyebrows.

“What about me?”

“Don’t you need to shower?” 

“Are you suggesting I come in there with you?” Frank blinked and swallowed loudly.

“No, I just thought-“

“I’ll go after you, doofus.”

“Can you two stop flirting, I’m trying to sleep here!” Ray said, sitting up on the couch and throwing a shoe at them. Gerard just snickered and left the room, and Frank took the initiative to go shower.

He showered as quickly as humanely possible, lathering soap manically and scrubbing it off just as fast. He was determined to be done fast so he could finally go to sleep. He got out of the shower giddily and wrapped himself in a towel. Gerard was waiting for him when he got there and eyed him up and down before getting up and leaving. Frank found the white sleeping shirt he had used before leaving and put it on. He picked up his boxers and made a face, they needed a good wash, like, stat. He sighed and walked over to Gerard’s dresser and took out one of his boxers. Maybe it was a little gross, and he should have asked first, but he could not be bothered. He shook his hair out and ran the towel through it once more before draping it over the door and climbing into bed. He was out like a light.

Gerard stopped in the door way, one hand on the towel and the other running through his soaked red hair. He dropped his hand and watched the younger of the two breathe in and out slowly in a peaceful, deep sleep. It was kind of adorable. He really did remind him of a puppy. If Frank was the hound, then Gerard would be his fox. Gerard softly slid in next to him and put an arm around his waist. Frank made a soft noise and curled in to him. Gerard fell into a much needed sleep, accompanied by the scent of Frank’s wet skin and their shampoo.

-

Mikey was the first to wake up the next morning, and found himself stepping outside for some long needed peace. The morning air was wet and chilly, but felt refreshing. The sun hadn’t come out yet, making it a nice relief from the pressing heat. It wasn’t until he turned around to face the house that he noticed he was not alone. Someone was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching him. He had never seen this person before, they wore a white crop top with the word ‘noise’ printed across in black lettering and thin white leggings with blue polkadots. They had dark hair swept into a fringe and black eyeliner in a ring around their eyes. They looked at each other silently for a long time.

“Gerard must be on a kick lately, tell him we’re running out of room,” the person in the crop top said. They moved to walk in the door.

“You know Gerard?” Mikey asked. The person paused.

“Better than anybody.” Mikey smirked at that.

“Anybody, huh?”

“Damn right.”

“I suppose that’s true, I haven’t seen him in years.” He shrugged. “Though my bet would have been Ghoul.” Show Pony scoffed.

“Ghoul? They just met.” That thoroughly surprised Mikey. They acted like they had known each other for centuries, not to mention he thought they might be dating, and his brother was very much not the type to date someone he had just met.

“What’s your name?” Mikey stepped closer.

“Show Pony. They/them.”

“Kobra Kid. He/Him.” Show Pony froze. They knew that name, Gerard had mentioned it to them a couple times. They looked him in the face. Mikey Way didn’t look anything like Gerard had described his brother to look like. Especially considering he was supposed to have died years ago. Mikey furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but smirked regardless.

“Something the matter?”

“You should be dead.” The words came out slowly, like they weren’t sure if that was an alright thing to say in their first conversation.

“Gerard’s been spreading rumors about me, has he? Ah, older brothers. Good for nothing these days.” Show Pony recovered quickly.

“Pleasure.” Their attitude shifted. 

“All mine.” Mikey admired them for a second longer, scanning his eyes up and down once then slowly looking away and moving past. Show Pony watched him walk away, then entered the house and disappeared into their room.


	6. Tattoos and Hair Dye

Months passed quickly with the four at D and Cola’s. Life was fun for once, and Frank enjoyed spending time being mischievous and carefree. He began to let go of his fear of other people and travelled with the group to plenty of rock shows and markets. It was easygoing and full of laughter, exactly what a 19 year old should be experiencing. All the time though, he couldn’t help but feel like they were preparing for a war. Slowly but surely they saw more BLI raids and more places shut down for fear of fate worse than death. Frank felt like they were biding their time. Like something big was on the verge of happening.

He spent time with Mikey learning how to steal ElectroKat Batteries from the machines and with Ray practicing shooting on fake targets. He felt like he finally had a group he truly belonged in, they had become his best friends in a short matter of time and he would give up anything to keep them around. Of course, Gerard was a different story entirely. They were inseparable, which was both comforting and incredibly worrying for Frank. He couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if Gerard left him. He hated the idea with a passion, because he knew he would never be the same without him. The fear that had driven him to live alone sat like a stone at the bottom of his stomach at all times. Gerard kept him sane, and in turn Frank did the same. 

-

“Kobra.” Show Pony stood in front of him in the doorway. Mikey raised his eyebrows. Since they had been back he had been forced to switch off between the floor and couch with Ray.

“You gonna let me through?” Mikey asked. Show Pony grinned.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” they said. Mikey pursed his lips, chewing on the bottom one.

“You can’t stand there forever, you know.” They stepped closer, a devilish grin on their face.

“Guess I’ll have to resort to other means, then.” They were about the same height, and being so close forced them to stare into each other’s eyes.

“Oh? What means are those?” Mikey asked.

“You’ll see soon enough.” Show Pony winked, then stepped aside and walked passed him. They turned to face him as they walked backwards. Mikey looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

“You’ll never catch me alive.”

“Who said you’ll be alive?” Show asked. Mikey turned around at that and cocked his head to the side.

“So you’re gonna kill me?” They shrugged, Mikey rolled his eyes. “Rather you, than BLI.”

Mikey started walking towards the door.

“Kobra?” He stopped in the doorway where Show had been only a minute before. “I would never kill you.”

“I know that.” Mikey left. He was looking for Ray, the man had to be somewhere around here.

-

Mikey found himself in Show Pony’s room more and more frequently. It started when they wanted to show him the collection of bottle caps they had accumulated and ended with the two of them sitting on the floor and looking through the records they had managed to save. Mikey thought they were funny. They were the only person who could keep up with his wit and he loved it, they shared the same energy. So he wandered around looking for them often. 

“Pass me the vodka,” Mikey said. They were sitting in Show’s room, making mixed drinks out of capri-suns. Show drunkenly tossed him the bottle and laughed maniacally. Mikey caught it with a sneer and dumped two shots worth into the plastic cup then followed it with the juice. He took a sip and winced, it was way too strong, but he didn’t particularly care.

“Sit down, Mikes.” They waved a hand at him. Mikey sat down criss cross across from them and leaned back against the bed. Show looked at him with a wicked look on his face.

“You know, if you’re gonna call me by my real name, it’s only right I should know yours.” Mikey pouted.

“That takes all the fun out of it.” Mikey rolled his eyes. 

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Please?” Mikey let out a frustrated sigh and Show laughed.

“Alright, let’s make a bet. First one to chug their drink wins.” Mikey’s eyes widened.

“That’s not fair, I just filled mine up!” Show shrugged and winked him.

“Guess you’ll have to drink fast.”

“Fine. In 3… 2 …1.” Mikey held his drink up to his mouth, but only took one slow sip. He was less drunk than Show was already and had a much better idea. When they finished first with a hiccup and a loud burp, Mikey swore and pretended to be mad. Show looked around like the world was spinning.

“Fuck,” they said. Mikey smirked. He pounced forward and pinned Show to the floor, hovering over top of them. He planted his palms on the other’s wrists and straddled their middle. He leaned in close, floating an inch above Show’s face.

“Looks like you’re not in a position to be gambling anymore.” Show chewed on their bottom lip and blinked. Mikey sat back, but Show didn’t move.

“You really wanna know my name?” They did no go around telling this information to people, but they were really drunk and it was Mikey, so everything was different.

“I really do.” Show looked directly into his eyes.

“Pete.” Mikey tilted his head, then slowly smiled. 

“Pete,” he said, trying it out. “You’re somethin’ else, Pete.” He climbed off of them. Pete sat up and coughed, the alcohol clouding their thoughts.

“You’re attractive, Mikey.” Pete would regret that in the morning, but Mikey just raised an eyebrow.

“Try not to fall in love with me,” he said.

“It’s too late for that.” Mikey took a long sip of his drink, ignoring them.

“When this is gone, I’m going to bed.” He held up the cup.

“Stay here. My bed’s too big for one person.” Mikey grinned.

“I would never turn down the offer of a bed.”

-

Frank walked out of their bedroom at closer to noon, yawning and stretching and looking for Gerard. Somehow he felt lonely when he wasn’t around him, even if only for a couple minutes. Gerard was hunched over a desk that was shoved so far into the corner of the living room Frank had never noticed it before. Gerard seemed to be really focused on whatever he was doing, so much so that he hadn’t noticed Frank enter the room. Frank snuck up behind him and peeked over his shoulder. Gerard was painting. He was really good at it too.

He dipped his cracked paintbrush back into the muddled water colors and swiped it across the page. It was a painting of the inside of an abandoned house, like the ones found all over the zones. At first Frank thought it was beautiful, until he noticed the face leering in the darkness, a pained inhuman smile contorting their face. It was a haunting picture.

“I didn’t know you could paint.” 

“Fuck!” Gerard spun around and found himself an inch away from Frank’s face.

“Sorry.” Frank chuckled, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine. Yeah, I mean, I just like to paint.”

“That’s terrifying by the way.” Frank gestured over his shoulder at Gerard’s painting. Gerard blushed and leaned back onto the desk.

“It’s supposed to be. It’s what I see at night when I can’t sleep.” Frank blinked.

“When you can’t sleep? Why don’t you just wake me up?”

“It doesn’t happen much now that you’re around.”

“Still though, if you need me wake me up.”

“Thank’s Frankie.” Gerard hit him in the arm lightly and grinned, attempting to lighten the mood. They were silent for a moment, then something connected in Frank’s brain.

“You should design a tattoo for me!” Gerard frowned.

“Me?”

“Yeah! Wait- have you ever done a stick and poke?” Gerard choked on his own spit and coughed loudly.

“You want me to tattoo you?” 

“I want you to tattoo me.” Frank laughed. “Please? Come on!”

“Okay… what do you want?” Frank cheered and punched the air.

“Yes! Whatever you wanna give me. We’ll have to get the supplies of course, but I think I know where we can get everything. What if you did it on my ankle? Or maybe my wrist? Upper arm?”

“It has to be small, Frank.”

“I know! Can we go out today and get the stuff for it?” Gerard laughed and shook his head.

“Sure, I think I have enough money in my bag.”

Just then the door to Show Pony’s room opened and Mikey stepped out. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Frank and Gerard staring at him. His hair was sticking up at odd angles and his clothes were wrinkly like he’d slept in them, the circles under his eyes were pronounced and he looked like shit. The hangover from last night was hitting him hard and he did not want to interact with them right then.

“What?” They looked at each other, speaking a silent language. Gerard hadn’t seen him go in the room that morning and Frank hadn’t seen him since he had disappeared with Show to drink.

“How long have you been in there?” Gerard asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Mikey shifted his weight to one leg and crossed his arms.

“What’s it matter?”

“You spend the night with Show?” Mikey’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t act like you don’t have trouble sleeping when Frank’s not around.” Gerard blushed and Frank burst out laughing.

“Good thing he’s always around then,” Gerard said. Mikey rolled his eyes playfully and left to get something to eat. Once he was gone Frank looked over at Gerard with an uncontrollable grin.

“Is that true? You can’t sleep without me?” Gerard bit his lip and avoided Frank’s eyes.

“I wouldn’t really know.” Frank giggled and reached up to play with Gerard’s hair. His hair needed to be re-dyed badly, it had faded into a light, patchy pink. 

“We need to get more red dye while we’re out today.” Gerard was looking at him with eyes dripping in admiration. He moved his knee so it touched Frank’s softly. He couldn’t help himself when he was near Frank, if they weren’t touching in some way it was all he could think about. And when they were touching it was all he could think about. 

“Should we get some lunch?” Gerard asked. Frank nodded and dropped his hand. They walked out the door and into the other section of the house where they found Dr. D, Mikey, and Ray all sitting down to eat. 

“There they are! We’ve almost got a full family meal here, does anyone wanna send for Show Pony?” Dr. D said. He looked excited to have his little crew together, even though they were a lot to crowd into the room and there weren’t enough seats at the table. They only had four chairs so they had been forced to create seats out of plywood and old machine parts found around the place. They rotated between who had to sit on the janky wooden box and the old washing machine with the bottom missing. Thankfully Dr. D didn’t need a chair since he had his wheelchair.

“I’ll go,” Mikey said. Gerard gave him a pointed look. Cola was in the kitchen making grilled cheese sandwiches for the bunch, and he poked his head out the door.

“Hey, Gerard. Frank.” They both greeted him. They had all begun to refer to each other by their real names, a sign that they really were a tight knit family. Frank actually enjoyed it more than he thought he would, very few people out here knew his name was Frank. Only the ones that counted.

Mikey returned with Show Pony a minute later and they sat next to each other at the table. They had begun to fall into a ritual of who sat next to who. Frank and Gerard always sat next to each other. D always went to the same side. Ray, and Cola sat wherever they could. And the latest addition had been Mikey and Show sitting together. Cola brought over a plate of sandwiches and slapped the ketchup down on the table.

“Dig in!” There was nothing quite like a family dinner at the hideout. The table was a scramble of arms and curse words as they all reached for the best sandwich. Mikey slapped Ray’s hand and grabbed the one he was reaching for then laughed loudly. Ray swore under his breath and grabbed the one underneath it.

“Aw, this one’s all soggy!” Ray said, holding his sandwich up between his thumb and fore finger. Frank’s snicker caught Gerard’s attention and he looked over at his plate.

"Yours looks better than mine!” Gerard said to him. Frank looked over at him then put his arms around his plate to protect his sandwich.

“Yours is fine, Gee. If anyone should want a new one it’s Ray.” Frank laughed and Gerard smiled at him. He loved when Frank called him that. 

“Whatever.” 

Multiple conversations broke out around the table, but as always the loudest voice of all of them was Show Pony’s. Their family had never been a quiet or peaceful one, and Gerard proved that by standing up over the table to yell at Mikey. Frank’s face lit up and he kicked the chair out from under Gerard right as he sat down. 

“Fuck! You little rat!” Gerard said, screaming at him from the floor. The table exploded in laughter. Gerard latched onto Frank’s wrist and pulled him down beside him. Frank toppled over, spilling his drink in the process and falling directly on top of Gerard. Cola cursed and shot up to grab a towel for the spilled water. Gerard and Frank were too busy laughing hysterically to notice that Frank was sat right in between Gerard’s legs.

Everyone still sat at the table looked at each other knowingly, and when Cola returned there was a faint proud smile on his face.

“Alright, shut up. What’s everyone doing today?” Cola said as everyone settled down and returned to their places.

“Frank and I are going to the market,” Gerard said. 

“I need to get my damn car back, anyone wanna make a trip in the next couple days?” Mikey asked the group. 

“I’ll go!” Ray said. 

“Me too.” Gerard nodded. Frank agreed. Mikey looked to Show Pony, but they just gave him a sad look.

“I’ll be gone for a few days, I have to run a message to zone 4 today.” Mikey’s face dropped slightly, but he did his best to hide it.

“Alright, well. The four of us can go, then.” 

It didn’t take long for them to finish eating and wrap up their conversations. Frank and Gerard walked back to their room to grab their stuff before heading out. They walked side by side, brushing shoulders under the strong desert heat. It was just after midday, the hottest time of the day. Frank was glad for his long sleeves to keep his skin from burning to a crisp, but very quickly he sweat through the thin fabric. The expanse of desert in front of them wavered under the sun. They were only going to the nest though, which wasn’t super far away and would have everything they needed. 

“What do you think about Mikey and Show?” Gerard asked out of nowhere.

“What about them?”

“There’s definitely something going on there right?” Frank laughed.

“Oh definitely.” 

“I was painting for a while out there and I never saw him go in. They must’ve spent the night together, right?”

“I suppose so, but that doesn’t really mean anything. Like Mikey said, we’ve been sleeping in the same bed since we met.” Gerard chuckled and knocked into Frank’s shoulder.

“But we’re different.” Frank raised an eyebrow and looked at him in happy surprise.

“How so?” 

“We just are. We’re like friend soulmates or whatever.” Frank couldn’t contain the grin on his face.

“Friend soulmates. I like that. Couldn’t Mikey and Show be that too?”

“I suppose they could be, I didn’t think of that. They haven’t known each other for long, but they seem really close.”

“I’ve seen them hanging out a lot recently. Plus, did you see the way Mikey’s face fell when they said they couldn’t come with us?”

“Yeah, he looked so sad. It’s weird to imagine my brother and one of my closest friends together.”

“How long have you known them?”

“Show was already here when I came, they’ve been here the entire time. They helped me through a lot, especially at the very beginning. I was a mess then.”

“I’m glad for them, then. I wish I could’ve been here for you though. It feels like I can’t remember what it was like before I’d met you anymore. It’s just seems so weird to think about going through anything without you by my side.” Frank’s heart sped up when he realized he had accidentally spilled a little more than he had meant to. Gerard was looking at him in the way he always did though, his eyes filled with a special type of love.

“You were a mess when I met you,” he laughed loudly and Frank bit his lip.”I remember what life was like before that moment, but I’d much rather think about everything that’s happened after. And everything that’ll happen in the future.”

“What do you see for the future, oh Gerard the psychic.” 

“I have big plans for us, Frankie. All four of us,” he said, being completely serious now.

“What kind of plans?” Frank was genuinely curious.

“Tensions are rising in the desert at a rate I haven’t seen since the Analog Wars. I know you feel it too. Whatever’s happening, I wanna be apart of it.”

“Wherever you are, I’ll always be by your side.” 

They were at The Nest. Not many people were here at this time of the day so it was mostly empty aside from the vendors and a couple groups of teens like themselves ambling about. They made a b-line for the general store where they would find everything they needed. They twisted through the aisles, digging through the bins of stuff. Some things were sorted by use and some were just thrown into the closest shelf. It took them a while to find a sewing kit and some ink, but the isopropyl alcohol was easy. 

“I think that’s it for the tattoo,” Frank said. Gerard nodded.

“Do you have hair dye?” Gerard called out to the store owner.

“There’s a big bin over there,” she said, pointing to a spot by the back door.

“Thanks.” There were plenty of mismatched brands and colors, many of which had started to leak onto the bin itself. Gerard quickly found a pretty full red one and plucked it out carefully.

“Anything else?”

“Nope.” Gerard paid the lady at the counter and they left the store. Gerard began to walk away but Frank grabbed his arm and pulled him back. 

“Wait,” Frank said. “Can we go to Josie’s?” He gave Gerard his best puppy dog eyes. Josie was a woman who ran a small scale bakery from her house. She was an older lady who had outgrown her punk phase and decided to settle and bake for the locals. She always had cookies ready and would give them out for a good conversation and a nickel. 

“Fuck yeah, let’s get some cookies.”

Josie lived in one of the nicest houses in the zones. When she first moved in, she would exchange her baked goods for home renovations from the younger zone rats. It was actually pretty smart, and she ended up being one of the only people to have a working kitchen, bathroom, and running water. The only exception to that was D and Cola’s place.

They walked up the porch and Gerard knocked on her door. A few moments later she opened it and welcomed them in.

“Party Poison! Fun Ghoul! Lovely to see you both. How have you been?” The house was as welcoming as always. It smelled of freshly baked cookies and was decorated with plants and homemade art. There were a couple artifacts from her youth hanging around, like a blaster, a signed BulletBrigade poster, and a can full of black ashes. Frank had asked about the ashes once and had been told they were from her home in Bat City that she had burned down before leaving. Faking her death was the easiest way for her to get out, since she had been from one of the upper level housing units.

“We’re doing well, Josie. And how are you?”

“That’s lovely, Ghoul. I’m doing dandy as always, did you drop by for anything in particular? I have some chocolate chip cookies in the oven right now if you can wait a couple minutes.”

“That would be perfect,” Gerard said. They followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table, the two of the sitting close next to each other and Josie across. 

“What have you two been getting in to recently, hmm?”

“The usual. Stealing, destroying, shooting, and just having fun overall,” Frank said.

“Don’t forget arson.”

“And arson,” Frank added, smiling. Josie returned the smile effortlessly.

“Arson is my favorite type of teen rebellion! How’re D and Cola? I listen to their radio shows every day. I remember when they were so young! Now look at them.”

“They’re kicking, as always,” Gerard said.

“Have you been getting enough sleep and eating well? You better be taking care of yourselves.” The two of them looked away guiltily. 

“Of course, Mom,” Frank said.

“That’s a compliment dear. And I have to ask, Poison used to look so exhausted all the time. I’m not sure what made the difference but you look so much happier these days!”

Gerard’s eyes widened and he looked down at his hands. Frank looked over at him and chuckled, then grabbed Gerard’s hand under the table and squeezed it. They made eye contact and spoke without words. Gerard glanced back up to see Josie looking curiously at the two of them.

“That would be him, Josie.” Gerard nodded his head towards Frank, and the other smiled brightly and ruffled his hair playfully. 

“Oh! Well, that’s just adorable. You two made a wonderful couple.” Josie had a similar look on her face to the one Cola had earlier when Frank had fallen into Gerard’s lap. It was a mixture of pride and wistfulness. 

“No, we’re not-“

“We aren’t. We’re just friends.” 

“Of course, I shouldn’t have assumed.” She didn’t look very sorry, though, in fact she looked pretty smug. A ding went off behind her and she jumped up. “The cookies!”

She brought a pan of hot cookies out of the over and put some on a plate and some in a bag. She set the plate down in front of the two and they eagerly shoved the delicious cookies into their mouth. 

“Fuck,” Frank said under his breath. He was convinced there was nothing in the world better than fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, especially ones made by Josie. Except maybe sex, but he hadn’t had that in quite a while. 

“You boys can take these home to the radio station. Don’t eat them all, there’s plenty to share.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gerard said. 

-

They took the bag back home and threw it at Mikey and Ray on the couch.

“For you, assholes.” 

“Yo! Where’d you get these?” Mikey asked, throwing Ray to the side to get to the bag first. Ray punched Mikey in the stomach and dug into the open bag. Mikey sat on the ground defeated and held out a hand that Ray placed a broken cookie in.

“Josie from the Nest makes ‘em.”

“These are delicious. What did you go to the Nest for?” 

“Hair dye and tattoos,” Gerard said. Mikey laughed.

“Which one of you’s manic?” Gerard rolled his eyes and reached forward to thump him on the head.

“Shut up, idiot.”

“Who’s getting tattooed?” Ray asked, sitting up from his spot on the couch.

“Me,” said Frank. “We should probably do Gerard’s hair first though.”

“Right on, little dude.” Frank made a face and moved to jump on Ray, but Gerard grabbed his arm and dragged him backwards towards the bathroom. He set the red hair dye on the bathroom counter and Frank sat on the edge of the tub. They made eye contact in the mirror and Frank winked. Gerard shook his head, his hair falling in front of his eyes. He ruffled through it with his hands.

“When did you last wash it?” Frank asked.

“Couple days ago.”

“That’s probably good then.” Gerard didn’t bother getting gloves out, his hands would be dyed red for a couple days but he didn’t care. 

“You wanna help me?”

“Sure.” Frank grinned and stood up next to him. 

“Here,” he squeezed some dye into Franks hands. “You do this side, I’ll do the other.”

The dye was cold and slimy in Frank’s hands. He lathered it on the half of Gerard’s hair closer to him, scrubbing back and forth and heavily saturating the strands. He made sure to get under near the roots and all the way down to the tip. At one point he looked up and caught Gerard staring at him.

“You got dye on your face,” he said, and reached out to touch his face. His thumb gently wiped at a spot on his cheek. Frank’s heart sped up and his breathing stopped for a moment, then he moved away. He watched Gerard wash his hands in the sink. Gerard chewed on the inside of his lip and glanced back at him. 

“You’ve done this before,” Gerard said. Frank nodded.

“Yeah, when I was younger I shaved the sides of my head, then bleached and dyed them.” Gerard caught his eye through the mirror.

“I wish I could’ve seen that,” he said, laughing. “That sounds really attractive.”

“I kind of liked it.” Frank had that look like he was curling in on himself, he figured Gerard was making fun of him. Gerard turned to face him, chewing on his thumb nail.

“I was being serious,” he said. Frank stood up straight and raised his chin.

“Oh. Well, in that case you’re right.” They grinned like idiots at each other.

“So, now what? In like 30 minutes I’ll come back and wash it out.”

“I suppose we should decide what you’re gonna tattoo on me.”

“That would probably be a good idea.” Frank followed him out into the living room again, where Ray and Mikey were now arguing over something stupid.

“They can’t be the best band anymore! Their bassist died! You can’t have a band without a bassist,” Mikey said, gesturing with his hand.

“Even without a bassist they’re better than Devilstar, no doubt! Plus their frontman is an asshole,” Ray said, leaning back on the couch, his arm hanging over the back.

“True, but in a purely musical sense-“

“Mikes, Devilstar sucks. You’re their only fan,” Gerard said, waltzing in on their conversation followed by Frank.

“Shut the fuck up, you look like a god damn fire hydrant.” Gerard stuck his tongue out at him and sat at his desk chair, spinning it to face the group. Frank walked over and sprawled next to Ray on the couch. Mikey was still sitting on the floor, his back leaned up against the coffee table so that he was facing Ray.

“Ok, what kind of tattoo do you want Frank?” Frank paused to think for a moment.

“You should get a gun,” Ray said.

“Nah that’s stupid, get a snake or something.”

“I’ve already got a scorpion,” Frank said, tilting his head to show them his neck. “I was thinking like a smiley face, but fucked up.” Gerard nodded thoughtfully.

“Ok, give me a minute.”

“Unfair that Gerard’s giving you a tattoo for free, I want one,” Mikey said.

“All you have to do is ask,” Gerard said, concentrating on the paper he was sketching on.

“Wait really? I thought this was a Frank only sort of thing?” Gerard lifted his head up with a confused look.

“Why would it be?” Mikey shrugged.

“Can I get one too, Gerard?” Ray asked. 

“Sure. I’ll do the whole gang. As long as you don’t expect anything complex.” 

“I want a cobra head, like the one on my jacket,” Mikey said.

“Oh, like your name- that’s smart! Maybe I could do a star.”

“Are you gonna do one on yourself, Gee?” Frank asked.

“I don’t like needles.” 

“But, it’s just a sewing needle.”

“I’m good, thanks.” He sat back and picked up his paper. “Here.”

Frank grabbed the paper and looked over it. There were a couple sketches of different smiley faces. They were all really cool, but one stood out to him. It was a circle with two smaller circles inside for the eyes, but one was x-ed out and had smile with a zig zag over it.

“I like this one,” Frank said. He pointed to the one he wanted.

“Me too,” Gerard said. “After I rinse my hair we can do this.”

“Are you gonna design Mikey and I’s?” 

“Oh yeah, what did you want again?”

By the time Gerard left to take a shower all three of them had picked out there design. Ray had settled on a star with a face in it and a small lightening bolt coming out and Mikey had chosen a simple cobra head design. 

“We should have a group name,” Mikey said. Gerard was in the shower now, leaving the three of them to chat. 

“A group name?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, well we basically just came up with logos. We need a group name!”

“I agree. We definitely need a cool name,” Ray said. He looked off into the distance and scratched his head. “What about Ray and the Misfits?”

Mikey reached over and smacked him on the arm. “No one’s name in the title, idiot.”

“Why not? Can’t we have a leader? And can’t it be me?” He grinned, purposefully messing with Mikey.

“Shut the fuck up Ray, the last thing we need is a leader.”

“Well what do you think we should be called, then?”

“What about the Ghost Busters, ya know cause we ghost everyone?” Ray and Frank stared at him.

“But there’s already been a group called the Ghost Busters. There was a whole movie about it.“ Frank said.

“Yeah, that’s what makes it funny. No?” 

“No,” Ray said. Frank shook his head in agreement and Mikey huffed and rolled his eyes.

“What about My Chemical Romance! I read it in a book once,” Mikey said, his face lighting up again. Ray put his head in his hands.

“I don’t know if that’s the right look, but I have an idea. The Killjoys,” Frank said. He waited for them to burst out laughing and make fun of him, but they didn’t.

“Wait, that’s- that’s really good.”

“I love it, Frankie! Good thinking. The Killjoys. I call blue by the way,” Ray said.

“Blue?”

“Yeah, as like my signature color, you know?”

“I call red,” said Mikey.

“I’m green,” Frank said. He wanted his color to match his blaster.

“Why are we shouting colors?” Gerard emerged from the bathroom in a towel, combing through his hair with his fingers. It was such a bright red it almost hurt Frank’s eyes to look at. 

“It’s a group thing,” Mikey said, shrugging. Gerard’s eyebrow furrowed and he made a face before disappearing into his room. He came back a minute later fully dressed and plopped down on the couch next to Frank. Water from his hair shook off onto his face and he grimaced and wiped at it with the back of his hand.

“Sorry,” Gerard said, leaning in close to him and speaking softly. Frank smiled despite himself, he always felt better when Gerard was with him. He found himself wanting to be closer to him, and so he put his hand palm up on Gerard’s leg. Gerard didn’t even look at him before putting his hand on top and lacing their fingers. Their hands rested between them on the couch and Gerard lightly brushed his thumb back and forth. 

“We’ve come up with a name for our group,” Mikey said, proud of the fact.

“Oh yeah?” Gerard raised his eyebrows and smirked.

“The Killjoys.”

“I was prepared to make fun of you, but I actually kind of like it.” Gerard looked genuinely impressed. Maybe it was the perfect thing they needed for fighting BLI.

“Frank came up with it,” Mikey said. Frank smiled sheepishly and nodded. 

“In that case, I love it.” He squeezed Frank’s hand and Frank laughed.

“Love you too, Gee.” Gerard grinned.

“You gotta pick a color Gerard. I’ve already chosen blue, Mikey has red, and Frank is green.”

“I guess I’ll be yellow,” he said. “Okay, who’s first?”

“Me!” Mikey said. Gerard looked at Frank as though to say ‘sorry’ and got up, pulling his hand away. Frank’s side felt cold and his fingers lonely. They each got their small, scraggly tattoos on their wrist, the perfect place to display them. When it was Frank’s turn, he was giddy.

“Ready?” Gerard said. His hand had started to hurt ages ago, but he was holding out for his favorite person. Frank nodded happily. Mikey and Ray had wanted to go to bed, since it was close to morning already, and had kicked them out of the living room. They now sat on the floor of their room, cross legged and facing one another. 

“Yeah.” Gerard held his arm carefully and rubbed the wipe saturated in alcohol over his skin. He then picked up his thin blue sharpie, taking the cap off with his teeth and holding it in his mouth while he slowly sketched out the design. It was a simple one, and he had practice now, so he wasn’t very nervous. 

“Okay, I’m gonna start poking ya.” Gerard was sitting close in front of Frank, and Frank’s other hand softly touched his knee. He picked up the wood pencil with a thick sewing needle stuck into the eraser. The needle's point was wrapped in thread. It the was kind of makeshift tattoo needle that was often used for amateur stick n poke’s. He dipped the tip into the black ink and brought it down onto Frank’s skin. It pierced just below the skin with a small pop and black ink spread out onto Frank’s arm. Gerard grabbed a tissue and wiped the excess ink away. He did the same over and over again around the lines he had drawn until they started to forma a solid line.

“This doesn’t hurt so bad,” Frank said. It really wasn’t that painful, just a pinprick of pain. And another. And another. It took a lot of dots to make a solid line, though, and so Frank sat there as Gerard continued. After a good thirty minutes had gone by, Gerard had finished the wobbly circle, and laughed loudly. 

“What?” Frank asked.

“It’s funny that I’m just sitting here stabbing you.” Frank laughed with him.

“Yeah, when you put it that way…” Frank twitched involuntarily as his arm began to get sore.

“I’m almost done, just have to do the eyes.” Frank nodded. It took another 15 minutes until Gerard was finally done and he looked down at his arm and admired the new tattoo. It wasn’t perfect at all, but that was the point. He wanted Gerard to do it, because then it would always remind him of him. It felt like he was carrying around a little piece of Gerard with him always.

“I love it, thank you Gee.” Frank wrapped his other arm around Gerard for a quick hug.

"Of course, now let me wrap it up.” He slathered some Neosporin on the new tattoo and taped plastic wrap over it. “It’s really small and not very deep, so it won’t take long to heal and probably won’t get infected.”

“Okay,” Frank said. He lifted his hand up to Gerard’s newly dyed hair. “We did a lot today, I’m tired.”

“Me too.” They sat there and stared at each other. Frank was thinking about something. 

“You didn’t get an icon,” he said. Gerard shrugged.

“I don’t want a tattoo.” Frank had an idea suddenly, and a devious look glistened in his eyes.

“Give me your sharpie,” he said. Gerard raised his eyebrows, but gave him the marker anyways. “Now don’t move.”

Frank grabbed Gerard’s arm and poised the pen above his skin in the same place they had all gotten their tattoos. Gerard didn’t pull away or complain, just let him do it. It was only pen after all. Frank was not an artist, but he drew an oval and colored it in halfway then put an X under it.

“There. For Party Poison. Now we’re all bound to this group.” Frank giggled and sat back. Gerard was just happy to be a part of it all.

“C’mon. Let’s go to bed,” he said grinning.


	7. Mikey Way's Car

Mikey woke up in the middle of the night on the floor. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t just gone to Pete’s room in the first place, maybe because he didn’t want any more questions about the two of them or maybe he was trying to convince himself he didn’t really need them. Whatever it was, he gave up the minute he woke up on the hard ground and his back ached and it hurt when he turned his head to the side. He slowly crept up, so as not to wake Ray, and slipped into Pete’s room. Of course they were gone on a trip, like they had said, so it was just Mikey in there. And that wasn’t weird. It wasn’t weird that they’d spent the night together either. That was common enough, so why did it make him start to sweat and his mouth go dry when he thought about it? Why was it that he had to grind his teeth together when he remembered Pete’s hand softly pressed against his thigh? Maybe that wasn’t common.

It was the fact that he liked it really, that scared him deep down. He didn’t want to like it and he didn’t want to like Pete. It didn’t matter that they were nonbinary, no, he was far beyond that. Mikey didn’t do crushes or whatever he wanted from Pete. He’d sworn off that ages ago. So why was he curled up between their sheets, in one of their shirts, trying desperately to inhale their scent and keep it locked into his memory forever?

-

The first thing Ray noticed that morning was that Mikey had abandoned him. He propped himself up on his arm and looked at the place on the ground where he had fallen asleep last night. He sighed deeply. Ever since they got here and Mikey had gotten close to Show Pony, Ray had felt left out. Frank had Gerard and Mikey had Show Pony, but who did he have? Even D and Cola had each other. He supposed he was lucky to have his friends and he loved them a lot, they didn’t exclude him very often, but still he felt as though something was missing from his life.

It was with this thought that he pulled himself up off the couch before the sun had risen and silently left the house. He walked until he found the beat up asphalt half buried in sand that was a street. He walked and walked, letting his feet take him wherever they wanted. He didn’t think about much, just observed. Observed the way the stars disappeared from the sky and the sun was birthed from the very ground he walked on. There was something very different about a sunrise versus a sunset. A greeting and a farewell.

The heat had yet to become overbearing, and the wind blew dry air all around him, lifting the sand and shifting it around his boots. Nothing was awake besides him and the night creatures hurrying back to their dens to escape the day. It was both a lonely time and comforting time. The further the sun crept into the sky the better he felt about himself, like it was somehow cleansing him of the dark and the thoughts it harbored.

The last thing he expected was to fall right into a trap. He saw the dracs a few seconds before they saw him, and so he had the upper hand. A few seconds was all it took. He whipped his blaster out and shot twice, one for each of them. They fell to the ground in a heap of death and Ray let out a breath. He hated killing, but he also hated dracs. 

An arm wrapped around his neck from behind and slammed against his throat, blocking any air from entering his lungs. He gasped and choked, each making less noise as his body realized there was no oxygen. Ray jabbed backwards with his elbow, ramming the person in the ribs. They grunted and loosened their grip, giving Ray just enough time to slip his hand under and pry the arm away from his throat. He fell to his knees and twisted to see the face of the draculoid who had snuck up behind him.

The masks were even more gruesome up close- greasy with thick black hair that stuck up like broken pieces of glass, inhuman features painted on, and the sickly smell coming from underneath that was accompanied by dried flecks of blood. He tore his gaze away, the drac was already reaching for his gun. Ray had dropped his blaster when he was assaulted and he looked around himself frantically for it. It was only once he gripped it’s body in his hand did he notice that there was already one pointed directly between his eyes. He wondered how he was even still alive. Then the drac fell on top of him.

He screamed, he couldn’t help it. There was blood pouring out of a hole straight through the heart of the once human that was sprawled across his chest. Ray didn’t even comprehend what had happened, he just shoved the thing off of him and scrambled backwards.

“You shouldn’t go out by yourself.” Ray looked up and past the dead body. Mikey stared back at him, his face void of any emotion. “It’s too dangerous these days. You know that.”

“Thank you.” Ray avoided the insult. It was better that way. Mikey would never let on how terrified he was of losing Ray, how seeing him scared made him terrified. Mikey only knew one way of showing that he cared, and it was not a particularly nice way. Mikey held out his hand and pulled Ray up.

“You’re lucky I rushed out after you.” Ray was having trouble speaking, because his throat hurt and he was suddenly exhausted though he had just woken up. Mikey knew he should ask if he was okay, he clearly wasn’t, but he should ask anyways. He didn’t though. They walked side by side in silence back to the station, the sun now fully in the sky and burning at their backs as though to say goodbye. Suddenly Ray had a hatred for the sun that had not been there before, it had betrayed him by luring him in. He had thought he was safe in the early mornings. Clearly he was wrong.

“Where did you guys go? You’ve been gone for-“ Gerard stopped talking, taking in Ray’s appearance. “What happened?”

Ray grimaced. What gave it away? His pants covered in dust? The blood stained dark on his shirt? The red marks on his neck? Or was it simply the glimmer of trauma in his eyes that he couldn’t quite suppress far enough. Frank, who had been laying on the couch with a comic draped over his face, was on his feet in seconds. Frank and Gerard shared that look of total concern and seriousness, like twins they were.

“This dumb fucker almost got himself killed.” Mikey nodded his head at the man stood next to him. He was mad now. The more he thought about it the angrier he got and he had been stewing the entire walk back. Why would Ray do something so stupid? The scene kept playing over and over in his head. What if he hadn’t gotten there in time? Mikey almost lost his best friend, and it was that notion that made him furious.

“Fuck you, Ray.” Mikey stormed past them and locked himself in Pete’s room.

“I went for a walk,” Ray said. His voice was hoarse still and he wanted to cry. Gerard approached him slowly. When Ray didn’t move away he held his face between his hands gently.

“You’re okay now,” he said. He wrapped his arms around him and Ray fell into his hug, letting a few tears drip down the side of his face. Frank left and returned with a glass of water, ibuprofen, and an icepack. Ray calmed himself down and sat on the couch with Frank and Gerard sat on either side of him.

“What happened?” Frank asked carefully. He eyed the red mark across his throat and handed him the supplies he brought.

“I was walking by myself this morning, I thought it was early enough that I’d be fine. Then I saw two dracs up ahead and luckily I had time to shoot them, but then one surprised me from behind. Choked me. I managed to pull away only to find myself looking down the barrel of a gun. If Mikey hadn’t shown up I think I might be dead.”

“Lucky Mikey was there then,” Frank said, grinning. Ray nodded solemnly, his hair shaking.

“I don’t know why he’s acting like he hates me,” Ray said. Gerard sighed.

“It’s cause he cares.” They both looked at him. He shrugged and nothing more was said. Ray got up to take a shower and change clothes. Frank and Gerard retreated to their room, laying on top of the covers. Frank sprawled out on the lower half of the bed, almost falling off the bottom of it. Gerard was staring at him, his head on the pillow.

“Stop looking at me,” Frank said, kicking him. Gerard laughed and kicked him back, almost sending him off the edge.

“You’re strange.” Frank mocked offense.

“And you’re not?”

“Oh no I definitely am, but so are you.”

“I’d hate to not be strange. Though I think it’s kind of required to be a weirdo in the zones.”

“That’s true, if we were normal we wouldn’t have left bat city,” Gerard said. Frank scoffed, staring at the ceiling. He felt fingers touch his arm softly and looked to the side. He turned his hand palm up and let Gerard lace their fingers together, then looked away.

“I’d hate to be one of them sad fucks.”

“You don’t wanna live your life devoid of happiness, love, fun, and really any emotions at all?”

“I’d rather feel sadness everyday for the rest of my life than nothing at all,” Frank said. He had lived that way. So had Gerard.

“What’s the point of living if you’re always sad though?”

“Can’t sad people still change the world?”

“I’m sure they could.” There was a knock on the door, even though it was already open. Ray stood in the doorway, looking uncomfortable.

“Can I come in?” Frank lifted his head off the comforter.

“Sure, man. You wanna get in here?” Frank patted the comforter with his free hand and started to scoot over. Ray nodded and crawled in between them.

“I almost died today. Just like that. One bullet and I wouldn’t exist any longer. That’s how easy it is.” Ray sighed.

“But you’re still here,” Frank said.

“I know. And now I feel like I need to do something, anything. So that if I do die soon, I’ll at least feel like I’ve done something important.”

“What kind of thing?” Gerard asked. Ray turned his head to look him in the eyes.

“I wanna fight back.”

“Join the club.”

“Well what are we gonna do about it, then?”

“Yeah, G, what’s your master plan?” Frank said, sitting up onto his forearms. Gerard stares off into the plain white ceiling.

“I don’t know.” It’s hard for him to admit. “I just wanna dust some draculas.”

“So do I,” Ray said. There was an air of anger around him that neither Frank nor Gerard had ever seen before. Ray was supposed to be the kind and chill one, when he was mad there was definitely something wrong. Ray wanted revenge. Revenge for today and revenge for yesterday and all the days before or after. He was tired of living his life like a run away, living in fear. He wanted BLI to pay for all that they had done to him, and all that they had done to his friends.

“I’m gonna fucking kill whoever’s in charge there,” he said aloud. Gerard made a noise of encouragement and rested his chin on his arms. Suddenly they were all tired again.

-

That night Mikey paced around Pete’s room. He felt like punching something, or screaming. He didn’t even know why he was so angry, he just was. He was so mad at Ray for doing something so stupid, even if it wasn't really his fault. He had been avoiding him all day, and the others too. What if he had died? He couldn’t stop thinking about it. He couldn’t stop imagining the amount of pain he would go through if Ray left him too. That was the worst part about getting close to people, especially in the zones. They all died someday.

He grabbed a pillow and punched it over and over as hard as he could. Tears streamed down his cheeks and rolled off his chin. There was too much going on in his head. Too many things to think about, and the scent of Pete was far too strong in the air and it was suffocating him. He stopped hitting the pillow and pulled it into his chest, slowly sinking to the floor. He cradled the pillow against his chest and pulled his knees in, crying even harder. He wished Pete was there so he would have someone to talk to that would understand, but that realization only made him cry harder. He was just so tired. Every time he thought about letting his guard down he was reminded by moments like this why he kept them up in the first place. He couldn’t take anymore pain.

Once his eyes were bare of tears and he felt that tired ache you always feel after crying hard, he stood up and hid himself behind the covers of Pete’s bed and pretended like everything that reminded him of them didn’t make his head want to explode.

-

When Mikey woke up it was still nighttime. Well, it was morning, but it might as well still be the night. He had a horrible headache and his eyes were still puffy when he reached up to rub them with the back of his hand. His throat was sore and his nose stuffy. If he had any tears left in him he might’ve started crying again, something about the dark and the loneliness brought it out of him. 

He got out of bed slowly and crept into the bathroom, careful not to wake Ray in the lounge. No one was allowed to see him like this, which is why he needed to fix it now. He stared at himself in the mirror for much longer than he had intended. He looked like shit. Pure, utter shit. He groaned and leaned forward onto the counter, putting his head in his hands. He dragged his fingers down his face, then turned the water on and cupped it in his palms. The water was cool on his burning face, but only made his eyes sting. He washed any signs of tears from his face and gulped down water straight from the faucet.

The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than usual, and he touched them gently with his index finger. Sometimes the person who looked back at him in the mirror didn’t look like him at all. He stared into his eyes until he didn’t recognize himself anymore. Until the person across from him started to scare him and he had to look away. He left the bathroom and laid in bed again, then closed his aching eyes.

He drifted in and out of sleep for a few hours until finally he couldn’t stand it anymore and catapulted out of bed. There was a surge of energy in him that came with lack of sleep, and though he knew he would regret it later, he decided today was the day they would get his car. Then maybe by the time they got back, Pete would be back too and he would forget about Ray and feelings and things would be just like they were. Yeah, that sounded perfect.

-

There was a pounding at the door that jolted Frank from the deep sleep he was in. Gerard sat straight up next to him and they shared a surprised look.

“Get the fuck up idiots! We’re going to 5 today,” Mikey said from the other side of the door. Frank laughed and shook his head.

“The sun’s barely even risen!” Gerard said.

“We’ll leave without you if you don’t hurry!” Frank stumbled out of bed groggily and wiped at his eyes. Gerard, however, groaned loudly and laid back down in bed and closed his eyes. Frank went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and pee and all that morning jazz, and when he came back Gerard had fallen back asleep. Frank rolled his eyes playfully and moved towards him. He lept onto the bed and straddled Gerard, placing his hands on either side of his head.

“Wake up sleepyhead!” Gerard yelped in surprise, his eyes flying open and widening significantly upon seeing it was Frank on top of him. Frank was laughing uncontrollably, his head thrown back and chest heaving, and he didn’t notice Gerard’s breath hitch or feel his heart skip a beat. He regained control of himself and put his hands firmly against Frank’s chest. For a moment Frank felt his nervous energy flow through his fingers into him, then it was gone and Gerard was shoving him off onto the bed. Frank laughed some more, curling in and clutching his stomach.

“Stop laughing, Frankie. It wasn’t that funny,” Gerard said. He flicked Frank’s arm lightly and Frank gave him a childish glare.

“We better get ready, or Mikey’s gonna kill us.”

“He won’t really leave without us.” Gerard said, one eye closing already.

-

The four of them left as the sun rose high into the sky and begun it’s arc of the heavens. They chased the sun, avoiding the roads and cutting straight through the desert. Gerard led them, with Frank and Ray right behind him. Mikey took the back, convinced that he had to protect all of them. It was quiet between them, nothing but the faint hum of the air and the desert sounds. Frank watched his feet as he walked, making sure not to step on a snake or trip on a rock.

He noticed that Ray and his legs were moving in sync and a small smile touched his lips. He almost pointed it out, but couldn’t bring himself to break the silence, especially not with something so trivial. Once he had become aware of it though he couldn’t ignore it, he had to make sure he didn’t get off and if he did he had to quickly fix it. Then Ray hesitated and slowed down and the whole rhythm was thrown off. Frank huffed and shook his hair out of his face, causing ray to throw him a confused glance. Eventually it was Gerard who broke the silence. He paused his steps and fell into line next to Frank.

“Are you guys hungry?” It was nearing midday and as soon as the words left Gerard’s mouth he realized how hungry he was.

“I am,” He said.

“Seconded,” Ray said. Mikey mumbled something in agreement. Gerard scouted out an old gutted diner and threw his pack down on a shaky table.

“Lunch is served,” he said, setting two apples, a packet of rice cakes, and a jar of peanut butter on the table.

“Wow,” Mikey said. “A four course meal.” He rolled his eyes and reached for an apple.

“Yeah, couldn’t you have packed something more substantial?” Frank asked. Gerard raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms.

“No, but you could’ve.” Frank shrunk under his glare and looked up at him sheepishly. Gerard couldn’t be mad at him, though, and took the opportunity to rifle through his hair. “Besides, this has all the food groups- fruit and protein.”

“I don’t think that’s all of them, Gee,” Ray said. He was already half way through a rice cake smothered in peanut butter.

“Yeah and there’s only two apples,” Frank pointed out. Gerard shrugged and reached for the apple, but instead of taking a bite out of it he handed it to Frank. Frank’s eyes were so sincere when he took the fruit that Gerard almost melted on the spot. When Frank was halfway through the apple he held it out to Gerard. There was still plenty of it untouched. Gerard took it gratefully and tapped Frank’s foot with his own in thanks. Ray and Mikey didn’t notice any of it.

They ate their small and unfulfilling lunch quickly to get back to traveling. After eating, however meager the meal was, everyone was in better spirits and conversation quickly broke out. Frank was bouncing and chatty, Mikey was less moody, Ray was his laid-back self, and Gerard was loud as ever. It took them a long time to realize that they had passed into Zone 5. They travelled with the pattern of the sun, arriving at the spot just as it passed into late afternoon.

“Mikey, I’ll race you there,” Frank said once they were a few hundred feet away. Mikey was already itching to be there and with those words he took off. Frank yelled and ran after him, pumping his arms and sucking in air. Their feet sunk into the sand and neither of them ran very fast, but when they got there they were both panting and hunched over anyways. Frank was bright red in the face and wiped a buckets worth of sweat off of his forehead.

“Alright, baby, I’m here,” Mikey said, recovering and prying the garage door open. His car was sat in the same spot it had been left in and he almost burst into tears. He did slap it on the hood and yell ‘fuck yeah’ though. Ray and Gerard were laughing hysterically at the two idiots when they walked up. Mikey walked around the car, inspecting it for damage.

“Ah, damn it. Here it is. They ripped out the transmission. Probably shoved a bug in there somewhere too.” Mikey kicked the bumper for good measure. 

“Can you fix it?”

“Of course. I brought some of my tools just in case, but I’ll need some spare parts.” Mikey dropped his bag to the ground and began to dig through it.

“What kind of parts do you need?” Gerard asked. He sat against the hood of the car and crossed his arms.

“I’ll need someone to find a junkyard, there’s one back where we came from last time.” He jabbed his thumb back towards the road.

“How far?”

“An hour at most, each way.” Gerard sighed loudly.

“I’ll go,” He was exhausted already, but someone had to do it.

“Someone’ll have to go with him,” Mikey said. He was bent down by the car now, half paying attention. Frank was about to volunteer when he was cut off.

“I’ll go with him,” Ray said. He purposefully ignored the uncomfortable faces of Frank and Gerard as they realized they would be split up for a few hours. They didn’t say anything about it, but all four of them knew it was weird. Frank looked wistfully into Gerard’s eyes, not breaking eye contact as he and Ray left. When Gerard finally turned away to walk forward it felt like a tie had been broken. Frank shivered and wrung out his hands.

“You’ll be fine,” Mikey said, glancing over at him then down at the car again. Frank was surprised to find out that his awkwardness was so obvious.

“You need any help?” He asked. Mikey took the wrench he had been holding in his mouth out.

“Nah, just keep me company for a bit.”

-

It took Ray and Gerard longer than two hours to come back, which worried Mikey and Frank more than either of them cared to admit. To distract himself Frank went in search of more water. He knew there had to be a well somewhere close by, and though Mikey didn’t like the idea of him going off on his own, he let him. Frank walked around the garage and past the house into the backyard. There was a non-functioning outhouse and an empty pool. He kept going, leaving the place behind.

He was alone for the first time in ages and that gave life to the loneliness inside him, the emotions that had been hidden since he met Gerard. Now he was familiar with how it felt to not be lonely and so to be alone again hurt so much worse.

The air was light and cooling against his skin, it was those few moments just before the sun set where everything seems perfect. The desert sky was a mix of colors above him and everything was quiet. It was peaceful. A crescent moon was pressed against the colorful sky, like a hole in the curtain of clouds above his head.

He listened to the sound of his shoes scratching against the sand. Suddenly he became aware of the hole that had formed in his chest, an ache that had appeared. All he really wanted to do was lay on the ground and be absorbed by the earth. It was one of those times where he felt like he could walk forever and disappear into nothingness. There was a lengthy sadness inside him and a voice in his head that said maybe he should.

And as though time had slipped by without his notice, the sky darkened and a chill wind brushed against his skin. He shivered against the nighttime cold brought in on the breeze. Something shuffled beside his foot and he froze in fear, but it was a horned lizard, scrambling out of its home. The evening creatures were coming out to play.

He found the well a good distance from the house, which was weird, but not that weird. This was probably where the most underground water was. He dropped the bucket down and wound it up, filling some jugs from the house and his own water bottle. He dipped his hand in and brought some of water up to his mouth. It was cool against his lips and gleamed silver in the moonlight. A memory played in the back of his mind as he swallowed, the stories of people tossing coins into wishing wells in hopes that all of their dreams would come true. Frank didn’t think this was anything but an ordinary well and he didn’t have a coin to offer it, but he threw his wish down in there anyways.

“I wish we could just live,” he said. Then he turned and headed back to the house. When he got back Gerard was there to greet him and he saw Ray sitting next to Mikey. Frank was too tired to be excited to see him, but he gave him a small smile anyways.

“You’re back.” They stood in front of each other in the yard, shadowed in darkness.

“Yeah, it took a little longer than we thought to find the place and the stuff, but we did.” He grinned. “Did ya miss me?”

Frank still had those sad eyes. “Of course I did.”

Gerard was keenly aware that something was off with him, but he didn’t want to push it. Instead he put his arm around him and walked back into the light. The ‘light’ was a lantern Mikey had lit in the garage. Mikey stood up, then yawned and stretched.

“I’ll finish this thing tomorrow, then we can leave for home. It’ll be much quicker with this bad girl.”

“There’s two beds inside, I already checked,” Frank said.

“Perfect.”

-

Frank was tired but he couldn’t sleep. He wanted to so desperately, every passing minute that he laid awake was torture. He felt hopeless and angry and there was so much on his mind, most of which was utterly unimportant. He groaned softly and turned over in bed again. He was beginning to sweat underneath the covers, but couldn’t risk falling asleep with them off due to his stupid fear of the dark. Or more like whatever’s in the dark. He stared at the shadowed ceiling. How was it possible to be exhausted and wide awake at the same time?

“Frank?” Gerard put a hand gently on his arm, his voice barely above a whisper. Frank didn’t move.

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong?” Frank turned to face him, pressing his cheek against the back of his hand.

“What do you mean?” Gerard shifted so that he was looking into Frank’s face.

“Something’s wrong.” Gerard didn’t know how to explain it other than he could feel when things weren’t right with Frank. Most likely it had been the tossing and turning and grumbling that had woken him up, but he wanted to believe it was because he was picking up on it subconsciously.

“Can’t sleep.”

“Oh.” For a moment they just watched one another. “Can I touch you?”

“Of course.” Frank wasn’t used to him asking for permission. Gerard pulled him in close, so that Frank’s head was nuzzled against his chest. He rested his head on Frank’s hair and curled his arms around him. The minute his forehead touched Gerard’s chest tears spilled from his eyes. Frank breathed out through his nose, not thinking before sliding his arm across Gerard’s side in a hug. His skin was soft and smooth under Frank’s finger tips.

“Stop thinking so much.” Gerard spoke softly into his hair, slowly running his hand up and down Frank’s back comfortingly. It was almost like magic, the influence Gerard had over him. If Frank told his brain to stop thinking it would tell him to shut up, but when Gerard did his head actually listened. It could have been the heartbeat beneath his ear, or the sweet voice above him, or the steady caresses, but Frank felt himself calm down. His breathing slowed and his eyes drifted shut. He was just on the verge of falling into the deep abyss that is sleep when he caught Gerard’s last words to him.

“I wish you knew how much I care about you, Frank.” Gerard didn’t think he would hear him.

“I do,” Frank said, words muffled against the fabric of Gerard’s shirt and slurred from post-consciousness. Gerard wasn’t sure if he was glad to get a response or not. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep too.

-

Frank was not woken up by the sunlight, or by Mikey’s swears, or Ray’s loud radio. He slept until there was a gentle hand on his shoulder and Gerard was telling him it was almost time to go. He stared up into his kind face and blinked rapidly to dispel the sleepiness. Gerard was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Time to go, what?”

“You needed sleep, Mikey’s been working on the car since sunrise and it’s almost starting. You should get something to eat before we go.” Gerard brushed the hair out of Frank’s eyes affectionately then got up and left.

Frank groggily lifted himself out of bed and followed Gerard out into the kitchen. Gerard was pouring hot water into a cup and Frank shuffled over and peeked over the counter into it. Gerard stirred it with a spoon, dumped some water out and slid the bowl across to him.

“I brought oats. There was honey in the back of the cabinet here.” Gerard put his elbows on the counter and leaned forward

“Where’d you get the hot water?”

“Put some water out in the sun,” Gerard said, snickering. Frank mixed some honey into his oats and spooned them into his mouth. The sweet honey spread across the taste of sleep in his mouth, sickly sweet and thick. Gerard watched him. There was a feeling of stillness and warmth in the air. Not the warmth of the outside heat, but the warmth of loving eyes. It was dark in the house, but sunlight streamed in through the kitchen windows and danced on Gerard’s back. It gave him a glow from behind, and Frank thought he look like an angel. The sound of a loud car revving from the garage broke their stupor.

“Looks like Mikey’s done. Eat quick,” Gerard said, he stood up straight and went to talk to Mikey and Ray. Frank shoveled the oatmeal down and lumbered after him.

Mikey was covered in grease and a large black smudge covered his cheek, but he was beaming. Frank hadn’t seen the man so happy in weeks and it quickly was rubbing off on everyone else. The sun was bright against a blue, cloudless sky and Frank smiled from ear to ear.

“Come on Frank, we’re outta here!” Mikey said, yelling over the radio. It was still tuned into the rock station from last time. Frank ran and hopped over the side into the convertible and they ripped out of the garage and away from the old house. Frank felt so free he wanted to stand up and scream. He didn’t want to die quite yet though, so he remained seated and channeled his joy into uncontrollable smiles and screaming along to the radio.

-

They were all hot and sweaty and bored on the road, but it definitely beat walking. What took them all day on foot was only a couple hours in the car. They could even sleep in between turns driving, and really they only needed to switch off drivers twice, first Mikey then Gerard. They still didn’t trust Ray with driving and Frank (the baby of the group) straight up refused the offer. Frank wished they could get the hood to work so they weren’t baking in the sunlight, but it was something they were all used to anyways.

They were home before noon, just in time for lunch. Cola heard the car engine and blaring rock music and met them outside. He waved from the door way then crossed his arms and leaned back on the frame. The car screeched to a stop and Frank jumped out, laughing and stumbling.

“You actually got it, huh?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, Cola,” Mikey said. A figure appeared in the other door and Mikey broke out in a huge grin. Pete was back. They sauntered over and ran their hand across the side of the car, then looked at the dirt on their hand and grimaced.

“What do you think?” Mikey asked, stepping closer to them and speaking low. They watched him carefully, like they knew he had been thinking about them nonstop since they left.

“Impressive,” they said. “It’s in pretty good condition. I thought for sure they would have found it by now.”

“Oh they did, nothing I can’t fix.” Mikey grinned.

“Did you run into any trouble on the trip?” Cola asked.

“No, pretty smooth sailing,” Ray said. No one was paying attention to Cola except him.

“That’s good.”

“Y’all want lunch?” Gerard said, turning his attention away from his conversation with Frank to speak with the group. There was a chorus of agreements and they piled into the house.

-

“I feel like we should celebrate tonight,” Mikey said. He felt like he was on top of the world with his car and Pete back. He forgot even what had happened with Ray and the nights he spent in emotional turmoil.

“What are we celebrating?” Frank asked.

“Being alive, getting the car back, I don’t know. Can’t we just celebrate?” They all looked at each other, shrugging.

“I’m with him, I think we’re due for a good time,” Gerard said. And if Gerard was in so was Frank, but there wasn’t any real chance of Frank not being down for a party.

“What alcohol do we have?” Ray asked. “Do we need another case of beers?”

“We could always use more,” Pete said.

“Someone wanna come to the store with me?”

“I’ll go,” Mikey said, he looked over at Pete.

“I will too,” Pete said, his eyes darting to look at Mikey before Ray. Ray smiled and nodded.

“What if we had a barbecue?” Gerard asked.

“Yeah! Get D to grill for us,” Pete said.

That night Dr. D grilled hamburgers for everyone and they sat outside in the night air. Show Pony lit a bonfire to keep them warm once the heat of the sun had disappeared and they went through a full two cases of beers. It was the kind of life Frank had dreamed of living out in the zones, but once he got here hadn’t thought was real. He was living a dream.

D and Cola turned in early, they had to get up early anyways, leaving the five of them to chat late into the evening. There were bags of chips and candy wrappers lying all around them and empty beer bottles littering the ground.

“No, no if we were in a band Gerard would definitely be the singer,” Mikey said. He was sitting on the floor, leaning back onto Pete’s chair.

“He can sing?” Frank asked, looking surprised.

“Yeah, didn’t you know? I thought you knew like everything about each other?” Frank shook his head.

“No, I didn’t,” he turned to look at Gerard. “Why didn’t you tell me you could sing?”

Gerard shrugged. “When would I have brought that up?”

“Whenever you wanted!”

“Well, I would definitely be the guitarist,” Ray said, cutting the two off.

“That’s true,” Mikey lifted his bottle in salute to him. “The man’s a god at guitar.”

“I can play too,” Frank said. He was shy about it, but Ray’s face lit up at the idea of a person to nerd out about guitar to, and Frank immediately felt glad that he had spoken up.

“We really could have a band, then, I used to play bass,” Mikey said.

“You used to play bass? So did I,” Pete said, entering the conversation. Mikey turned around to look at him incredulously.

“I swear you’re my soulmate,” he said, cause them to laugh and take a sip of beer to hide their blush.

“We can’t have two bassists though, can we?” Gerard asked.

“Why not? Bass is the superior instrument anyways,” Pete said.

“Wait what about a drummer?” Frank asked. They all paused.

“Huh, we forgot about that didn’t we,” Mikey said.

“Do we all have the same taste in music?” Ray asked. Everyone nodded in agreement, they’d already had extensive conversations about music and bands they liked

“Nah, not me. I like the classical music BLI puts out,” Pete said, being a little shit.

“Hold up, don’t diss classical music. Some of it goes so hard,” Gerard said.

“Not BLI’s,” Mikey said.

“True, but Shostakovich? Mahler? That shit rocks.” Frank laughed at him and shook his head, causing Gerard to reach over and smack him on the arm lightly. “It’s true!”

Pete yawned loudly and stretched, it was getting late.

“I’m gonna turn in,” they said, moving to get up. They looked at Mikey. “You coming with?”

“Yep. Night y’all.” Mikey said, waving and following Pete into the house.

“I’m gonna go too, see ya tomorrow,” Ray said.

Frank and Gerard stayed outside longer, enjoying the time they had to spend alone. Frank was beginning to get fatigued with all the effort it took to socialize with more than one person every day. He found himself really enjoying the company of Mikey and Ray though. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was where he was supposed to be, and this was corroborated by the way the four of them had melded into a group. It was clear that they made a good team and the process that is trust had already begun to accelerate.

The two of them sat in beach chairs and admired the constellations, drinking beers and sharing a bag of crushed Doritos. Gerard’s hair floated in front of his face and twisted in the wind, the dim yellow light of the porch turned it a murky orange color. With one hand he combed through it and laid back in the chair to look at the stars. He looked over at Frank and caught him staring.

“What?” Frank chuckled and looked down, then back at over.

“Nothing.”

“You don’t seem to be as anxious around people anymore.” Gerard remembered when they had first met, how nervous he had been all the time.

“It’s not so bad anymore. I like Ray and Mikey a lot. Show Pony too.”

“Me too. It feel’s like all the puzzle pieces have finally fallen into place.”

“Yeah.” Gerard’s hand moved slowly to rest his fingers on Frank’s arm. He traced the tattoos there and trailed down to place his hand over Frank’s. Frank turned his arm over and linked their fingers. He wasn’t sure what any of it meant. How they cuddled every night and held hands often now. None of that really had to mean anything, and Frank was content with that. He supposed Gerard was too. They were just two touch starved young adults confiding in each other.

“I’ve never met anyone like you before,” Frank said. Gerard didn’t look towards him, but he thought he could see a tinge of blush on his cheeks.

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

“What’s so special about me, Frankie?” He looked Frank in the eyes then, if only to watch him stutter.

“Everything. The way you look. The way you act. You’re passionate, but not arrogant. You’re kind and caring, instead of angry and mean like everybody else out here. You wear your emotions proudly. You’re bold and intimidating yet sensitive and touchy.”

Gerard didn’t say anything, instead he looked down. When a minute went by Frank breathed out slowly and turned forward as well. He knew he shouldn’t have opened up like that, he had ruined it by getting too close. A long time went by before Gerard’s voice pierced the silence in a soft whisper.

“You’re sweet and soft, but angry and chaotic. You’re a little bit broken and timid, yet somehow also completely whole and strong. I’ve never been good at making friends, but with you it was easy. You slipped into my life like a part of me that was missing. Every time you speak I get excited to hear you. Every time I see you I get excited to be near you. ” He squeezed Frank’s hand tightly. Frank’s eyes watered and a tear slipped down his cheek. Gerard let go to catch it with his index finger.

They had both confessed, but neither knew to what. Neither of them said anything for a long time after that. Frank watched the stars and moon glide across the sky and daydreamed about a life without BLI. He was still holding Gerard’s hand lightly and brushed his thumb across his skin. Gerard was staring up into the sky, like he was being consumed by the heavens, but a small smile touched the corners of his lips. He had never been happier in his life.

Eventually Gerard took his fingers back and stood up. He stretched and yawned and Frank got up as well.

“We should get some sleep,” Gerard said. Frank nodded and rubbed his eyes. Before they could turn and go inside, though, something changed in the air. Frank froze in place, fear coursing through his veins like a drug. Gerard met his eyes with a look of horror. Suddenly their feet were hidden by mist and there was a chill surrounding them that dug straight into their bones. Neither of them moved a muscle, and yet there was the sound of something moving nearby. Frank searched Gerard’s eyes for some sort of answer, but none came. Just the same fear and confusion reflected back at him.

“Gerard.” A voice floated from behind Frank. It sent shivers up his back. It was then that finally Frank spun around to face whatever it was that was approaching them. He moved closer to Gerard in the process, brushing against his arm. Gerard had turned deathly pale and a cold sweat cloaked his entire body. There was only one other time when he had experienced this.

“Frank.” The voice called out again. Frank choked on his own spit.

As quickly as the mist appeared, it parted. Before them stood the Phoenix Witch, in all her glory. She was adorned in jewelry that clanged as she walked, and wore a stark white mask. Black feathers stuck out above where hair should have been, and her body existed only as a shadow apart from her arms, which were dressed in reddish-brown bandages from elbow to sharp nail. An aura of bright purple outlined the witch and lit up the night. When she spoke there was no visible indication.

“You must find The Girl. She waits for you, scared and neglected.” Frank couldn’t even imagine responding, his tongue was made of led and his heart was blocking his throat.

“ What Girl? Where?” Gerard spoke at last, finally getting up the courage to acknowledge the witch. She did not react.

“South of here, to the place where water acts like a desert creature and reflects all your worries back at you. I will guide you. Be wary of enemies, there are many who want you dead.” Gerard nodded once firmly, though he had no idea what that meant. The Phoenix Witch began to glide backwards into the mist, but stopped. She turned and faced directly at Frank.

“You have learned to trust. You must now learn to let go.” Frank’s mouth went dry.

“Thank you.” He could think of nothing better to say. With no other words, she disappeared into the night and a wave of warmth rushed toward the two of them. It took them each a few moments before they regained control of their limbs and hastily retreated to their room. Frank sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall. What had she meant? She had stopped to give him a personal message, there was no denying how important that had to be. Gerard sat down next to him.

“What are you thinking about?” Frank snorted.

“Are you really asking that?” Gerard rolled his eyes.

“I guess not.”

“What do you think it all means?”

“It means we have a trip to make.” Frank stared at his hands and picked at his nails.

“But what are we supposed to do with this child? Take care of her? We’re just- well, us. We’re not role models, or parents.” Gerard thought for a moment then sighed.

“I don’t know. We don’t have much of a choice. I for one am not going to ignore the Phoenix Witch appearing before us. That doesn’t just happen.” He didn’t mention her words to Frank, but he did think about them. ‘You have learned to trust. Now you must learn to let go.’ He felt a weird sense of pride at knowing that it had been him to teach Frank to trust.

“I’m tired,” Frank said. Gerard nodded in agreement. They undressed to their boxers and got into bed together, crawling even closer than normal to ward off any spirits lurking in the dark. They both laid on their backs and stared at the ceiling, tired, but adrenaline barring them from falling asleep. Gerard kept coming back to the witch’s words.

“You trust me,” he said into the darkness. It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Frank rolled onto his side to face him. He knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Of course.” Gerard faced him. It was easy to forget all the words they had exchanged this evening with everything that had happened, but they came rushing back to Gerard. His face grew hot with embarrassment, but he didn’t regret any of it.

“Do you trust me?” Frank’s voice was quiet and fragile, he was afraid of the answer.

“Of course,” Gerard said. He wasn’t sure what it was that made him do what he did next, maybe it was their confessions, or the adrenaline clouding his brain. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Frank’s. Frank didn’t move, instead he screamed profanities in his head. Gerard was gone before he could even blink, and for a second he thought he had imagined the whole thing. The look in Gerard’s eyes told him he hadn’t. The words of the witch came ringing into his ears. Let go.

Frank lifted his hand to the side of Gerard’s face, brushing the hair out of his face, then he smashed his lips back onto Gerard’s. It was still a closed mouth kiss, but a desperate one. Frank pulled away slightly, touching their foreheads while their breath mingled around them. They kissed again, this time moving slowly and forming a rhythm. It was as though they had broken through some invisible barrier, and now there was nothing holding them back. Frank dug his fingers into Gerard’s red hair, twisting it around his fingers. Gerard made a noise in the back of his throat and kissed back more aggressively. He ran his tongue across Frank’s lower lip and Frank responded by opening his mouth against him.

Finally, it was Frank who moved back. Gerard didn’t say a word, but simply kissed him on the forehead and pulled him into his chest. Frank didn’t resist, instead he sank into the arms he was so familiar with.


	8. Rescue Mission

Frank yawned and stretched, his body ached with stress from the night before and his brain felt foggy and slow. He rubbed his eyes and the image of Gerard an inch away appeared behind them. He smiled to himself. When he opened his eyes Gerard was still asleep next to him and he reached a hand down to touch his face lightly. There was stubble on his chin where he hadn’t shaved in a while and his skin was red with touches of sunburn. He was hot to the touch and his hair was slicked with sweat at the roots. Frank leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, then laid back down. He loved the time he got with Gerard all to himself in the mornings, before the place was bustling and they had things to worry about. He wasn’t going to leave just yet.

Gerard slowly woke into consciousness. The dreams that night had been weirdly real and dark. He dreamt of the Phoenix Witch and the girl, of being too late and finding her dead, of all four of them dying. In the last one he had seen Frank get shot, watched him fall to his knees, a look of complete shock and pain plastered on his face. A hole in his chest that spouted blood and tiny chunks of muscle. Gerard had ran to him, but something held him back firmly no matter how much he thrashed. Sobs and screams tore though his body and he beat at the arms around him.

The only thing that could take away the chill the dreams had left him with was the warm body encircled between his arms. Frank was alive and breathing and pressed against his chest. Gerard pulled him closer and heard him hum in response. Gerard nuzzled into his hair and wrapped his leg over Frank’s. His hand found it’s way to where the bullet had hit in his sleep and pressed flat, as though he were keeping Frank’s insides from pouring out.

“Good morning,” Frank said, his voice crackling with dehydration and sleep. Gerard mumbled something incoherent, refusing to say the words that brought the real world to life again. Instead he pressed his lips lightly against the nape of Frank’s neck and felt him shiver in response.

Sounds of the morning drifted in through the window. The only birds in the desert were birds of prey, and those didn’t chirp, but there were many loud insects. The sunlight trickled in as well, dousing them in gold. Gerard loved the way the sun beams played across the room and rippled across their skin. When nights could offer no respite, it was always the morning that brought peace.

But of course, that could only last so long. Finally, something clicked and Gerard was wide awake. He sat up in bed and blinked rapidly, a frown overtaking his face. Frank groaned next to him covered his hands with his face.

“We need to have a family meeting,” Gerard said. He hoped out of bed and tugged pants on, a hand firmly on the doorway. Frank swung his legs over the side of the bed and made a face at him.

“Now?”

“Yes!” Gerard was shouting now, storming through the house. He knocked wildly at Show Pony’s door and shook Ray’s shoulders violently. The house was jerked into life very suddenly, and Gerard was met with four unpleasant faces.

“What the fuck do you want?” Mikey said, ripping open the door to Pete’s room. Gerard paused and bit his lip to hold back a sly grin.

“Yeah, Jesus man what’s up your ass?” Ray said. Frank shuffled into the room, looking mildly zombie-like. He moved and sat next to Ray on the couch, rubbing at his eyes. Pete shoved Mikey out of the doorway and took a seat in the desk chair.

“We have to leave,” Gerard said. His brain was working at a hundred miles an hour and he wasn’t getting his point across the way he thought he was.

“Leave?” Pete asked.

“There’s been a uh- We were… last night-“ Gerard couldn’t find the words to describe the weird encounter. Mikey looked between him and the bleary-eyed Frank.

“Listen, I don’t know what you two were up to last night, but none of us want to hear about it,” he said. Mikey was only half joking, but he really wasn’t expecting Gerard and Frank to both go wide eyed and blush.

“Wait what?” Ray asked. He was glancing around the room, completely lost.

“I don’t know what you’re implying Mikey! I was going to explain to you how we saw the Phoenix Witch and she told us to go south and find a little girl,” Gerard said

“Now I’m even more confused.”

“A little girl?” Pete asked. Frank groaned and leaned back against the couch. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

The color had slipped from Mikey’s face and he stood still. Pete glanced over at him, did a double take, then stared.

“The Phoenix Witch?” Mikey asked, speaking softly. Gerard met his eyes with a soft, brotherly look in them that he didn’t see often. He nodded slowly. There was a stunned silence as they all processed that information. It was unheard of for the Phoenix Witch to appear before the living, except apparently if you were Gerard Way.

“Hold on, what girl?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know. We don’t know anything else about her, just that she’s young and we need to find her.”

“Where? Why?”

“She said she would guide us south, to the ‘place where water acts like a desert creature and reflects your face’ or something.”

“All water reflects your face, dumb ass,” Pete said.

“What the hell does that mean?” Ray asked. “Did she say anything else?”

Frank thought about what she had said to him. Gerard looked at him, then Ray.

“Just that it’s gonna be dangerous,” Gerard said.

“Well that’s obvious,” Mikey said. Gerard sat down on the arm of the couch closest to Frank.

“So we have to leave, like tomorrow?” Ray asked.

“Yeah.” They had just gotten back, and it was time to leave again. Frank felt sick to his stomach over the idea of a child living with them. The Witch had said nothing about them taking her in or caring for her, but he knew as soon as they brought her back none of them would be able to give her up. He felt guilty for the way he didn’t want her. A child at their age was a death sentence, she was going to steal their youth and the freedom attached to it.

The apprehensiveness hung in the air like a thick cloud of smoke that clung to their skin heavily. They all knew deep down this was a new beginning for them, the beginning of the end. There weren’t any more words to be spoken and they all wandered off to prepare for their next trip.

Gerard followed Frank. Frank was walking, not in any particular direction or with any destination in mind. He was reminiscing and living in the memories of the past. He swore he could feel the ground tremble as he tapped a wooden baseball bat on asphalt and lifted it up to swing. He was a kid again, in Bat City playing with the neighborhood kids. He saw his mom’s face, felt her hands cupped over his cheeks. There were tears curled up in her eyes, and he wanted to touch them, release them.

“I love you,” she said, her voice shaking. Even at such a young age he could see the pain in her eyes, something he knew he was not supposed to see and she was not supposed to have. She disappeared and was replaced by a firm hand on his shoulder and the cold glare of the BLI officials. He felt the pinprick of pain where his heart was that broke their hold on him, the one that grew into a flame of hurt and anger and drove him out of the city. He felt it now even, in the desert, on the ground, crying again. There was still a hand on his shoulder, but this one was gentle and familiar.

He leaned into Gerard’s shoulder, unsure when he had fallen to his knees or even why he was crying. He was mourning, something that change lures out of people. We mourn for the life we had, not knowing that the life we will have is even better.

Gerard rubbed Frank’s back slowly. He could sense him finally coming back down, sucking all of the sad that he had let out back into his body. He wished it would just blow away on the wind, get buried in the sand or fly high into the clouds. He didn’t need to ask why he was crying or what had triggered it, because for the most part he understood and that was all that mattered. He didn’t need to know anything else really.

Frank lifted his head and looked up into Gerard with glassy, stained eyes. There was snot running down over his red, puffy lips and Gerard wanted to kiss him. Frank looked away before he had the chance. He let out one final sob, and Gerard watched the last tears slip down the side of his cheek and pool at the bottom of his jaw. He touched a finger to it and the droplet disappeared onto his fingertip. When Frank didn’t react, he drew his finger in a line down his jaw until it landed on his chin. He gingerly tilted his face up towards him, eyes lingering on his lips before scanning upwards to meet Frank’s. He saw the trust in them, and reflected it back.

Softly, he pressed his lips to Frank’s. They were salty and slick. Frank reacted immediately, pressing back and tilting his head into it. They stayed there for as long as they could hold their breath, then pulled back. They gasped for air. A smile touched the corners of Frank’s lips, spreading from him to Gerard in one fluid motion. Frank reached a hand up to the back of Gerard’s head and pulled him in once again.

-

“You’ll come with us this time, yeah?” Mikey asked. He was shoving a second shirt and water can into his dirty, ragged back pack. He crossed the room and picked up the protein bars he had been saving for this occasion. Pete bit their lip and sighed.

“I don’t know, Mikes. We don’t know how long it’ll be. I should probably stay here.” They laid on the bed over the covers.

“C’mon Pete, please? They can deal without you for a little while, let’s have some fun.” Pete closed their eyes and leaned back onto the head board, arms behind their head.

“What kind of fun?” they asked, smirking behind the black hair drooping over their face. Mikey leaned over and smacked him on the leg. Pete startled and laughed.

“Not like that.”

“Ah, not yet you mean.” Mikey had no response for that, which Pete pretended not to notice.

“Come with,” Mikey said. He was using that soft voice that Pete could never resist and looking at them with wide, pleading eyes. Pete glared at him lovingly.

“Fine,” they said. Mikey’s eyes sparkled.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ll come with. Just for you, baby cakes,” they said, sitting forward at the last part and leaning in close to Mikey. Mikey scrunched up his face and pushed them back with a firm palm on their chest.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Yet,” Pete said under their breath.

“You should get a bag together then,” Mikey said. Pete groaned and slowly got up from the bed.

Half an hour later they were ready to go and it was still early evening. Mikey left Pete’s room and peeked in the doorway of Frank and Gerard’s room. They were giggling about something, and Frank looked over with a huge smile on his face.

“Mikey,” he said. Gerard had been facing away from him and spun around. He was smiling with the corner of his mouth like he always did, his eyes were soft and inquisitive.

“What’s up?” Mikey felt like he was interrupting something, although there was no sign that he had been. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door frame.

“Nothing, I just wanted to see what’s up. I just finished packing,” Mikey said. The joy dropped from both of their faces, surprising Mikey.

“We’re almost done. Probably before dinner,” Gerard said. Frank picked at his nails, then felt Mikey staring at him and glanced up with a fake smile plastered on.

“Okay,” Mikey said, drawing the word out. He felt awkward and left in a hurry. Ray and Pete were talking in the lounge. Ray had finished getting ready ages ago, and was honestly excited to be leaving the house again. They thought about taking the car, but it was too risky. Mikey would only offer it up for shorter trips with the way things were right now. It would be way too obvious if they went roaring all the way to the border.

Over dinner they broke the news to Cola and D. The air was thick with excitement and anxious nausea. Cola leaned forward when Gerard described the Phoenix Witch to him, listening in rapture. He had always been curious about the Witch, and he knew just how special these people in front of him must be for her to appear before them. D whistled and leaned back in his chair.

“That’s a mighty crazy story you’ve got there. You best leave soon, then,” D said.

“Yeah,” Pete said. “So I’ll be off duty for a couple days.”

“You’re going too?” Cola asked Show Pony. They nodded hesitantly, taking a quick bite of food.

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Cola smiled at them and they visibly relaxed. Mikey was beaming. The night continued on easy going and fun, they shoved the plates aside and played card games and drank beer and reminisced on the past couple of months. It was a celebration of life the way it was, and a send off for what it would be tomorrow. Pete stood up to grab another drink.

“Oh, Pete will you grab me one,” Mikey said. His sentence trailed off at the end when he realized his mistake. Everyone in the room was staring at him with a look of surprise and intrigue. He wasn’t supposed to call them Pete in front of everyone else, they had told him specifically not to and he had done such a good job so far. Pete didn’t even say anything before rushing out of the room to avoid the awkward gaping.

“What did you call them?” Gerard asked, always the first to recover. Frank wasn’t sure what the big deal was, and was searching desperately around the room for some sort of answer. He met Ray’s eyes, who just shrugged and looked away.

“Pony. Obviously.” Mikey failed spectacularly at playing it off. Pete made sure to spend an extra few excruciating minutes in the kitchen grabbing the drinks before going back.

“I didn’t know you were going by Pete again,” Cola said the minute they reentered. Pete cringed and sat down in the chair next to Mikey, who was giving them an apologetic look that also screamed ‘help me.’

“I don’t, really.” There was a prolonged silence. Frank tried to catch Gerard’s eye, but resolved to just ask him about it later.

“Well, it’s good of you to move on. We’ll call you whatever you like, you know that,” Dr. D said. Pete looked uncomfortable but flashed a quick smile and nodded. They angled themselves towards Mikey for the rest of the night, like doing so would offer some sort of protection.

The fun fell apart quickly, and they needed sleep before their trip. Frank was the first to excuse himself, followed promptly by Gerard and then the entire group broke away for the night. Frank walked out of the house and into the other without turning to look at any of them. He had been having a good time until suddenly he wasn’t. He felt alone surrounded by his friends and that ache in his chest had returned accompanied by a sick felling in his stomach. Gerard grabbed his shoulder and held him back in the living room.

“Frank, what’s wrong?” He asked. Frank rolled his eyes. He was barely tipsy, but the alcohol was still making his moods flip. He hated how easily Gerard could read him.

“Nothing,” he mumbled. He looked away pointedly, noticing that the others had followed them in and were watching.

“You’re upset, why are you upset?” Gerard asked, his eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

“Cause you’re all acting like this is fine, like this is normal and things are gonna be the same when we come back! Nothing’s gonna be the same. This is fucking it.” Frank was yelling now. He was frustrated and angry and felt like no one was taking him seriously. He and Gerard had been fighting about this all day, but they had never raised their voices at each other.

“Frank, shut up,” Gerard said, sighing and running a hand through his hair. Gerard was tired of hearing about it.

“What?” Frank asked. His eyes gleamed with an intense fury and he set his jaw. He felt like punching something. Maybe even Gerard.

“You heard me,” Gerard stepped in closer to him. “Shut the fuck up. We don’t have a choice. I’m tired of you bitching about this all day long! Stop acting like this is the end of our lives! Just cause we have to go save a kid’s life? You’re being selfish!”

“And why can’t I be a little selfish? I’m not saying we shouldn’t go help an orphan kid, I’m just saying she’s gonna make us grow up, Gerard. That’s what kids do. They take the fun out of life.” Gerard noticed a change in the way he was talking.

“Who told you that, Frank?” Gerard was still mad at him, but he was cooling down quicker than Frank. Frank’s eyes watered involuntary and he clenched his fist against his side.

“No one,” he said, through gritted teeth. Gerard’s face softened fully.

“Frank-“

“No, don’t do that.” Frank growled and pulled at his hair, but his anger was fading fast and he couldn’t stand it. Being mad at Gerard was like trying to catch smoke with his hands, it just kept slipping away. He wanted to be mad, he wanted to destroy things, and hurt all of their feelings, but he couldn’t. He still loved his friends even if they made him want to rip his hair out sometimes.

He walked out the front door and was punched in the face by the cold night air. He kept going, moving briskly around to the back of the house. He slid down the wall and pulled his knees into his chest. There were no lights back here, just the distant glow of the moon. He leaned his head back against the wood panelling and let the tears drip slowly down his face. Of course he was fucking crying again. He never used to cry before he met Gerard. Now it seemed like he cried all the time. He wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Gerard, Mikey, and Ray had shown him what true friendship was, what it’s like to have people who are just like you. Even Show Pony was a sort of sibling to him. But with love and light came opening himself up from the inside out, meaning he was start to feel things again. Good things and bad things, even things he had pushed down many years ago were starting to seep through the cracks. He stared out at the horizon line for a long time, until his hands and nose were ice cold and turned pink.

It wasn’t Gerard who came to find him, though. It was Ray, which he had really not been expecting. Ray approached him slowly, as though he were a rabid dog trapped in the corner and he was afraid he would lash out. Frank did not say or do anything, however, and Ray took that as a sign to sit next to him. He criss-crossed his legs and leaned back on the house, looking straight forward too. He didn’t say anything for a while, just sat there next to Frank. Frank was surprised to find out that he was glad to have company then. He thought he had wanted to be alone, but he didn’t.

“You wanna talk about it?” Ray asked softly. He moved his head just a little so he could see Frank. Frank nodded. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

“I don’t know,” he said, truthfully. He shifted his weight and leaned forward so that his chin was resting on his knees. “I’m just- well, I’m happy. I haven’t been happy in a long time and I guess I’m scared of losing it.”

“You’re not gonna lose us,” Ray said. Frank’s confession made him smile despite himself. Frank glanced over at him, his eyes filled with a sad sincerity.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah I do. I’m me and I know that I’m never gonna leave you. And I’ll make sure none of the others do either. Gerard wouldn’t know what to do without you, anyways.” Ray was full on grinning now and Frank couldn’t help but catch it from him.

“You don’t think this girl is gonna change things?”

“Of course I do, but not as much as you think. We’re gonna raise her our own way. Not the stupid BLI way,” Ray said. Frank grimaced and looked away from him.

“Yeah, not that way.” His voice was quiet again, almost lost in the wind.

“It’ll be alright, Frankie. You never know what life’s gonna bring you. This could be the best thing to ever happen to us.” Frank nodded and tried his best to smile at him.

“Thanks Ray.”

“No problem. I’ll be here anytime you need.” With that Ray stood up and held his hand out to Frank. Frank thought about declining, avoiding Gerard for a little longer, but he knew it would be easier if he went back in with Ray. He took Ray’s hand and stood up, then followed him back inside.

Gerard was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the wall intensely when Frank appeared in the doorway. There was a single candle lit on the dresser that glowed across half of his face. Frank had half a mind to join Ray and sleep in the living room, but he wasn’t going to miss out on his last night in a bed for a while. Gerard looked up at him silently, but Frank just ignored him and changed into his night clothes. He hoped Gerard wouldn’t notice his puffy eyes. He was still sitting there when Frank slid into the bed and turned away.

Quietly, Gerard blew out the candle and got into bed next to him. The distance between them felt weird and forced. Frank listened to Gerard’s soft and slow breathing, not daring to fall asleep.

“Frank?” He had been waiting. Frank turned around to face him. Gerard was laying on his back, not looking at him.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Gerard looked at him. It was then that Frank realized Gerard was scared too, he was just better at hiding it. “Come here.”

Gerard scooted closer and put his head on Frank’s chest. Frank wrapped an arm around him and rubbed up and down his back. He pressed his lips softly into his hair, ignoring the smell of sweat and grime.

-

Mikey was awake first. He rolled over to look at Pete and was taken aback by how angry they looked in their sleep. Their forehead was scrunched up and lips pressed into a firm line. Mikey lifted his hand to their face and gently eased the creases in their face, brushing the worry away as best as he could. He hated himself for how attached he was growing to them. He knew things would always be okay until he was by himself again. He pressed his eyes shut and tried not to think about it. Instead he listened to Pete’s steady breathing, in and out. He timed his breaths so they were in sync and waited for them to wake up.

He didn’t have to wait long. They groaned and flung a hand out to make sure Mikey was still there. It slapped Mikey on the chest with a thump and made him jump. He made a noise indignantly and shoved the hand off.

“You’ve only just woken up and you’re already hitting me,” He said. Pete hadn’t even opened their eyes yet.

“Better contact your lawyer. Spousal abuse is an ugly thing.” That made Mikey scoff.

“We aren’t married, idiot.”

“You’re right.” Pete jumped out of bed with more fervor than someone who had just woken up should be capable of. They darted to Mikey’s side of the bed and got down on one knee, holding open an imaginary ring box. “Wanna spend the rest of your life with me, Mikes?”

Mikey was grinning before he could help it. He slid his legs over the side of the bed and looked down at them. He mimed picking up the imaginary ring and went to slide it on his finger, then in a sudden movement threw it into his mouth and swallowed dramatically.

“It’s not going to be that easy,” he said, laughing. Pete feigned hurt and disbelief, then fake sobbed with their hand over their heart.

“How could you do this to me? I thought we were in love!” They were putting on a show now.

“Baby, I never loved you.” Mikey put an invisible cigar up to his lips and breathed in deeply then blew out. He leaned back onto the headboard and crossed his legs over the covers.

“That’s not even funny,” Pete said, breaking character. “Now I need reassurance, you love me don’t you?”

“I’m cheating on you with your best friend, dear.” Mikey took another hit from the air between his fingers. Pete walked across the room, combing their hands through their hair and looking for clothes.

“You can’t cheat on me with yourself. And next in line is Gerard.” Pete threw a mischievous grin his way.

“Ew, dude.” Mikey pretended to flick the cigar away and let his hand drop down next to him on the bed. He watched Pete maneuver slowly around the room.

“You just gonna sit there and watch me?” Pete asked, pausing to raise an eyebrow in his direction.

“Yeah, I think I am,” Mikey said, crossing his arms and getting comfy.

“We have to go soon.”

“I’m all packed.”

“Whatever you say,” Pete said. They began stuffing their legs into a pair of jeans from the floor. Mikey was pretty sure they were his, but he didn’t say anything about it. Pete scooped up a faded t-shirt covered in holes and pulled it over their head.

“This is like a reverse strip tease,” Mikey said, not looking away. Pete looked up and over at him, their head tilted down.

“I can reverse it again if you want.”

“Hm. Wouldn’t that be something.” Mikey’s eyes ran slowly down then up Pete’s body. He chewed on his lip idly. Pete was taken aback by Mikey’s flirting and had to stop and consider for a moment whether they really should strip for him. The frown on Pete’s face broke and the sinister grin reappeared.

“That would cost you money, babe.” They winked and left the room, headed for the bathroom. Mikey rubbed his eyes and wondered how in the world this had become his life. With no one to watch anymore, he decided it was probably time to get up and get dressed too.

-

They left the radio station at dawn, just like always, and with bleary eyes and dragging feet they made their way south towards Bat City. In the mornings no one was chatty, and they parted the dewey air in a haze. It was almost magical, Frank thought, he still felt like he was dreaming with the chilly, wet air hung over them and the cloudy look of the sky.

The more they walked they shook off their morning stupor and began to have fun. They jumped and laughed and shoved and shouted. Games were played and jokes were made. The hours passed easier when the weren’t focused on counting them.

The group charged on through Zone 5. Gerard lingered behind, walking next to Pete. He looked forward to make sure no one was paying attention and lowered his voice.

“Why did you tell him your real name?” He asked. Pete thought for a moment.

“It just felt right. And I was very drunk.” Pete chuckled

“You trust him that much?” Pete raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at him.

“He’s your brother. Don’t you trust him that much?” Pete asked. Gerard’s face fell and he grew silent. Pete knew they had hit a nerve and almost apologized, but Gerard opened him mouth again.

“I just thought you hated that name.”

“I did. He likes it, though.” Pete smiled wistfully and nodded their head at Mikey walking in front of them. He was talking loudly with Frank about cars and Frank threw a look over his should at them that showed he knew nothing about cars.

“You can’t do everything for him,” Gerard said, frowning.

“Can’t I?”

“What do you want the rest of us to call you?” Pete grinned widely and shrugged.

“Whatever you want,” they said. They sped up and tapped Mikey on the shoulder, enjoying the way he spun into them. Frank laughed loudly and looked back again at Gerard with a smile that would make anyone happy. Gerard bit back a grin and caught up with them.

-

It was Mikey’s turn to stay up, but Gerard was awake. He was thinking about what Pete had said. He watched Mikey rub his arms and scan the horizon. A low sadness filled him and he slowly stood up and drifted over, offering him a hand. Mikey looked up at him indifferently.

“Go to bed, Gerard.” Gerard didn’t move.

“I think it’s time we talked,” he said. Mikey knew there was no getting out of it, and he supposed it was probably true. Gerard pulled him up then led him out of listening distance from the other three. He sat down on the ground and Mikey joined him. Neither of them wanted to start the conversation.

“What’s going on with you and Show?” Gerard offered, pretending that was what he really wanted to talk about. Mikey sniffed and shook his head, looking down at his legs.

“What’s going on with you and Frank?” Mikey said. He should have seen it coming. Gerard sighed.

“Fine. No casualties. I’m sorry.” Mikey refused to look at him, but Gerard’s eyes bore into him.

“For what?” Mikey asked, setting his jaw.

“You know what for.” Mikey looked up at him fiercely.

“I wanna hear you say it,” Mikey said. Gerard chewed on his lip and glared at him, then looked off into the night sky.

“Sorry for getting you killed, Mikes.” Mikey rolled his eyes.

“I’m not dead.”

“You might as well be.”

“Don’t turn this on me, Gerard! It was your drug problem that got me captured,” Mikey said. Gerard cringed. He took a moment to regain his thoughts. He was staring straight into the mouth of his biggest mistake.

“I’m sorry,” Gerard said. He sounded miserable. He covered his face with his hands. “Mikey, I’m so sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt. You weren’t supposed to get caught. Everything that happened was all my fault.”

The despair in Mikey’s eyes gave him away. He took a deep breath and put his hand on Gerard’s back. Gerard was crying now and Mikey hated it. It made him want to cry too. All his rage had disolved.

“Gee,” he said softly. “It wasn’t all your fault. It wasn’t even you that asked me to go pick them up. How could you have known?”

In all reality Mikey had wanted to forgive him for a long time. He was only harboring resentment because Gerard had never apologized and it was easier to ignore things than to get to the bottom of them. Mikey hated facing reality. That’s why he loved the zones so much, there was no reality here.

“I should have said no. I knew it was dangerous, but I was too chicken to speak up.” Gerard struck the ground with his fist. He still wouldn’t look at him, so Mikey shoved his shoulder. Gerard jerked to face him, the tear marks still on his cheek glistening in the moonlight.

“I forgive you, idiot,” Mikey said, making eye contact. He was his brother after all. “And I’m alive. Different, but alive.”

Gerard nodded and leaned his head onto Mikey’s shoulder. Mikey patted him on the back and they stayed there for as long as Mikey could stand it.

From behind them Pete blinked awake and almost had a heart attack when they noticed their two most important people were missing. When their eyes landed on them in the distance, relief rushed through them, then curiosity. They took in their hunched forms leaning on each other and smiled to themselves. They had been waiting for the two to reconnect finally. They had seen the way it affected both of them separately, the wall built between them. And when Mikey crept back over silently and melted into their side, they knew things had been resolved.

“How is he, Mikes?” Pete said, their low voice carrying over their back.

“He’s good,” Mikey said, his voice hoarse. Pete smiled sleepily.

“And you?”

“Good.” That was about as close to a confession as they would ever get out of Mikey Way.

-

A hand tapped Gerard’s shoulder and he was ripped from his far away thoughts. It was Frank, now sitting close next to him. Their knees touched and he could feel him looking at him.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. Where were you?” Frank said. He swept the hair out of his eyes. Gerard watched the sun peak over the horizon.

“Just… thinking,” Gerard said vaguely. Frank picked up his hand idly and caressed the dry skin on his knuckles. Gerard smiled and looked down at their hands, intertwining their fingers. Their hands were the same size and fit together perfectly, fingers over fingers and palms pressed together. He imagined for a moment the life he and Frank could have together if BLI didn’t exist. He wondered what it would be like to not expect to die before reaching 30, to have a happy and long life. To live in a pretty, suburban house next door to Pete and Mikey and Ray, spending every evening with his friends and every night with Frank. He knew this would never happen. Something in his gut said he was not going to make it out of this war, and he could only hope his friends wouldn’t meet the same fate. This life he dreamed of was never possible, and really, he didn’t think any of them could stand to live that way anyhow.

“What are you thinking about, Gee?”

“You,” Gerard said, he squeezed Frank’s hand. Frank’s stomach did a flip and he squeezed back. He leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

“Get some rest, I’ll watch for a while,” Frank said. Gerard didn’t want to leave him. All he wanted was to curl up with Frank in his arms and sleep in. He stared into his eyes for a long moment, then let go and retreated back to the camp.

-

The days blended together and the heat sucked their energy. It was no longer fun, just sweat and aching muscles. They were too irritable to hold conversations for more than a couple minutes, and often they always ended with someone snapping at another. Not only were they exhausted, but it was incredibly dangerous. Numerous times they had to sneak past dracs patrolling the lines or heard screams in the distance. If they hadn’t thought things were escalating in the zones before, they did sure now.

Gerard fell as the natural head of the group, directing where to go and maneuvering around drac traps. In reality he had no idea where he was going, but the Witch said she would guide them and that accounted for how they hadn’t died yet. The border was quickly approaching, however, and they still didn’t know what they were looking for. Gerard and Frank couldn’t even recall exactly what the Witch had said, it was lost in the adrenaline.

“If either of you could remember the damn riddle, maybe we’d have a better chance of finding it,” Mikey said.

“Maybe you should fuck off!” Frank said, flipping him off over his shoulder.

“How do you forget what the fucking Phoenix Witch says to you! Are you both stupid?”

“Mikey!” Gerard said, spinning around to face him. “We’re all trying our best.”

Mikey glared at him until he turned around and kept walking again, then made a face at his back.

-

It was nighttime again and Gerard laid with his hair in Frank’s lap, sleeping lightly. Frank played with his hair gently and kept watch against the terrors of the night. Ray, Pete, and Mikey were asleep nearby, leaving him alone. Frank felt if he closed his eyes at all he might drift off to sleep, and the night air was nipping at his face and hands. It was always chilly close to Battery City. They were too close to it for comfort, and Frank kept it in the corner of his vision always. The high-rises and grey fence a silhouette stuck to the skyline. He hoped they would find the girl soon and be done with it.

There was something in the wind that caught Frank’s attention. A sound carried to him, just faintly. The shifting of feet against the dry ground. The hair on the back of his neck and arms stood up and he felt all of his senses grow ten times stronger out of fear. He was deathly quiet and perfectly still, eyes shifting around wildly for the source of the footsteps. But there was none. He stayed like that for ages, waiting for someone to emerge into his eye sight. The sound faded, and no one ever appeared, so he chalked it up to hallucination and woke Ray up for the next watch.

It wasn’t until morning when the sun gleamed brightly everywhere that the footprints made themselves known. Frank’s heart dropped when he saw them. There weren’t supposed to be footprints when they first woke up, the wind would have blown them all over. These weren’t even close enough to any one of them to be theirs. The mystery prints started about 3 feet away from where Frank had been sleeping and continued outwards from the group, seeming to have just appeared out of thin air. They circled around and stared down at them.

“Did anyone have to pee in the middle of the night?” Pete asked. No one laughed.

“There’s no way it was dracs. If they had gotten that close we would be gone by now,” Ray said. Gerard nodded.

“I heard them,” Frank said, causing everyone to look at him. “Whatever it was that made these, I heard them during my first shift.”

“You heard footsteps that close and didn’t wake us up? Frank, we could’ve been ambushed!” Mikey said, exasperated. Frank shook his head.

“No, I never saw anyone. I thought it was just in my head. I could’ve sworn…”

“What do you mean you didn’t see anything? They were barely three feet from your head,” Gerard said. He stared at Frank.

“I didn’t see anything,” he said again.

“Is it possible that the footsteps you heard were different from these?” Ray asked.

“I don’t think so,” Gerard said slowly. “I think we’re supposed to follow them.”

“Are you insane?” Mikey asked, staring blankly at him.

“I think he’s right,” Frank said.

“There’s something wrong with you two,” Mikey said, scoffing.

“It’s clearly magic from the Witch, Mikey!” Frank said, gesturing toward the footprints.

“Are you sure?” Pete asked.

“Yes,” Gerard said. He nodded firmly, then turned and walked away from the group. Frank followed him, and after exchanging concerned looks the other three did as well, not really having any other choice. Frank caught up to Gerard.

“You think this is safe?” He asked. Gerard was watching the path in front of him intently.

“The Phoenix Witch is protecting us, Frank. We wouldn’t have made it this far without her.”

“What happens on our way back?” The Witch had only promised to protect them on the way there.

“I don’t know.”

The footprints stopped as abruptly as they had started. They had travelled far to the west of Battery City, to the point where it was almost completely out of view. Something strange had appeared before them, though. Frank thought it had to be a mirage at first, but it didn’t disappear when they grew closer. That was when the Witch’s real words came back to him.

‘Where water acts like a desert creature.’

It was a river, or what remained of one. Frank didn’t think there were any left, the extreme levels of heat had dried up most surface water. Yet here was a shiny creek weaving between the cracks of the earth. It looked like a crack in the surface as well, splintering out in dark murky shades.

“This is it,” Gerard said. The group filled out into a line staring at the water in awe.

“She’s here somewhere,” Frank said.

“But where?” Ray asked.

They followed the water further west. It was late afternoon now, the sun shaking with warmth above them. Frank’s eyes burned and his legs worked on autopilot. Each step was harder than the last. Until finally they came across what they had been looking for. It was the top of a car sticking out of the ground, rusty and stripped of any paint.

“That’s been there for ages,” Mikey said. They all looked at each other, then Gerard stepped forward. He peered into the empty window frame, it was only large enough for a small child to fit through. Two dark eyes peered back at him, filled with terror. Gerard’s face softened immediately and he reached a hand into the car.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” he said, softly. Something about the way he said it comforted her and she grabbed his hand. He helped her out into the open air. The girl had big curly brown hair and was scrawny with malnutrition. She was still wearing the standard school uniform, but it was ripped and stained. Ray walked over slowly and bent down in front of her. She couldn’t have been older than six.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m Ray. We’re here to help you.” She cringed away from all of them, wrapping her arms around her torso.

“We’re going to take you home now,” Gerard said. She didn’t respond, just looked at the ground in fear.

“And where is this home of yours?” A voice they didn’t recognize called out from behind them. Frank’s body went completely cold and his heart faltered. He turned around slowly, braced for the worst and found exactly that. A tall, bald man in a grey suit stood on the crest of the hill facing them. Behind him were six draculoids with their blasters raised. Frank figured it was the end for him, for all of them. All he could think about was getting to Gerard before the guns went off.

“Where are my manners? I should introduce myself. My name is Korse, it’s lovely to meet you all. We’ve had our eyes on you. You Way brothers really love to cause trouble, don’t you?”


	9. You, Me, Us

No one said anything, or moved a muscle. Frank remembered that name from Lindsey, he was the new Scarecrow. The one she had said to stay away from at all costs.

“Well!” Korse said, raising his voice. “Let’s not be rude. Someone better answer me, how about you Frank? Ray? Pete?” Pete ground their teeth and snarled, but Mikey grabbed their wrist and held them back. “Fine. Tell me where you’re going and we’ll leave you alone. You can even keep the girl.”

“You’re lying,” Gerard said. He stepped forward, putting himself between the danger and the girl. He hovered next to Frank and the others. Frank thought they would all get shot right then and there, he almost closed his eyes and accepted it, but it didn’t come. Instead Korse swiftly closed the distance between them, pulling his blaster out of it’s holster on his hip, and pointed it at Gerard’s temple.

“You want the truth? Tell me where you’re going and I won’t shoot your brains out right here.” Frank’s impulsiveness got the best of him. The image of Gerard with a gun pressed to his head would never leave him, and he didn’t think before throwing himself forward and tackling Korse with all of his body weight. In the same moment Frank went down on top of the Scarecrow, Mikey pulled two hand grenades off of his belt and threw them at the dracs, who were too slow to react in time. Gerard lunged forward and yanked Frank up and away, then bolted from the scene. Ray scooped the girl up in one fluid motion and took off after them, Pete and Mikey right behind him.

“We’re the Killjoys!” Mikey shouted over his shoulder. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” 

In the chaos they were able to get away, but in the back of his mind Frank knew they were more than just lucky. Korse had let them go.

-

They ran for what seemed like hours. Until they had to slow down and catch their breath. Ray set the girl gently on the floor and dropped into the sand. She scrambled a few feet away, wide eyes always present. 

“Well,” Mikey said. “That was fun.” Ray shot him a glare. 

Gerard gasped for air and wiped the sweat off his brow. He turned around and looked at Frank, then took three long steps toward him and grabbed his face. He kissed him desperately and Frank was caught so off guard he didn’t react at first, but slowly he melted into him. They pulled apart just enough to heave air into their lungs, foreheads pressed together.

“You could’ve died,” Gerard said, his voice raw. 

“I couldn’t lose you,” Frank said. They breathed each other in for a moment longer, but the realization that they weren’t alone was creeping up. Frank glanced to the side and found everyone staring at them in surprise. 

Pete caught Mikey’s eye and held it for too long. Mikey averted his eyes and moved away, but when night came he watched Pete lay down their pack and pull out a blanket, and he waited from afar. He waited until everyone had fallen asleep and then snuck in close. Pete felt his warm chest against their back and hummed softly, not even needing to look to guess who it was.  
The wind blew through Mikey’s hair and he pulled Pete in closer. He closed his eyes against the tears threatening to spill. He only ever allowed them to break free at this time of night. He was so scared of losing Pete or his brother or Ray or even Frank. He was terrified of the fact that he loved his friends so much he couldn’t bear the thought of being without them. He hated being attached, which is why he hid it. Pretended he wasn’t and stuffed it so far down he wouldn’t have to deal with it, until those emotions broke free in the middle of the night and he found himself combing through Pete’s hair and blinking back tears. 

-

The girl still hadn’t said a word to them the next morning.

“What’s your name?” Ray asked again. She stared at him, but didn’t answer. He was patient and kind with her, and understood that probably she was just traumatized and scared.

“It’s okay if you wanna change your name. It can be anything you like. We just need something to call you. Girl doesn’t seem right.” He smiled comfortingly. She stuck her thumb in her mouth.

“Well, what if we just make up one for you? Is that alright?” She thought for a moment then gave a slight nod. Ray’s face lit up.

“What should we call her guys?” Ray asked, throwing the question at the rest of them. Frank turned and faced her while walking backwards.

“June?” She shook her head. Frank shrugged and turned back around. Gerard was walking next to him and sent a smile his way.

“How about Ruby?” Gerard asked. The girl pondered, then nodded slowly. 

“Okay, Ruby. I like that,” Ray said. He held a hand out to her as they walked. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and slowly reached out to take his hand. 

They didn’t run into any more trouble on their way home, as though all of the dracs and scarecrows had vanished into thin air. Frank was keenly aware of every place they could be watched from, his paranoia kicking in. Every once in a while he lagged behind and glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was following them. Gerard noticed immediately, but didn’t question it. He was on edge himself.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go back to the radio station right away,” Gerard said. Pete furrowed their eyebrows and looked sharply at him.

“Why? I have to get back,” they said.

“I’m just not sure it’s safe. I feel like we’re leading BLI right to them.”

“So we go somewhere else for a few days. Take the girl with us,” Mikey said. 

“Where?” Frank asked. He looked over at Ruby. She watched them with rapt attention, as though if she blinked something bad might happen. He immediately felt sorry for her, they had no idea what she had been through up to this point. From the looks of it she hadn’t had a good childhood so far, but really none of them had. She noticed Frank looking at her and made eye contact, he smiled at her but she just looked away. 

“Somewhere. We can live outside if we have to” Gerard said. Everyone groaned.

“Are you sure we can’t just go back?” Pete asked. Gerard shook his head.

“It’s not a good idea, Show. We can’t risk that.”

“We should keep going,” Mikey said. “Maybe we can find some place to get shelter. And a market, this girl needs some food.” He gestured towards Ruby, who shrunk when everyone looked at her.

Frank wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay now, that they would take care of her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He still held a little resentment for her, but every time he saw those sunken eyes of hers and her skinny frame his walls melted a little more. She would have all of their hearts in the palm of her hand before they knew it. 

They found a house to spend the night in. It was the same type of dilapidated building that littered the zones. There were two rooms, one with bunk beds and another with a queen bed. They were both dusty and gross, but much better than the ground. 

“You took the bed last time, it’s our turn,” Gerard said, shooting a look at Mikey. Mikey rolled his eyes and glanced at Pete, then shrugged. 

“Let the girl sleep in the bunk bed, Ray you can sleep on whichever one she doesn’t,” Gerard said. Ray nodded happily.

“That leaves us out here,” Mikey said. There was no couch or anything to lay on in the living room.

“Sorry Mikes,” said Gerard. “What do we have to eat?”

Mikey dug in his pack and pulled out the last of their food stores, a couple oranges several pieces of bread and a can of soup. Frank sighed. It was hard to carry enough food for all of them, especially on longer trips.

“We have to find more food tomorrow,” Ray said. Mikey nodded.

“Agreed,” Frank said. They made sure Ruby got the majority of the food, and she ate quickly. 

“If we really are being followed, wouldn’t it be just as bad to lead BLI to a market?” Frank asked. Gerard sighed.

“We need food,” he said. 

“So what if only one person goes?” Mikey asked.

“We’re in the desert, I don’t think it matters whether it’s one person or five, there’s no cover.”

“So what do we do? We can’t starve, but we can’t put anyone else at risk,” said Pete. Frank put his head in his hands. He glanced over at Ruby, a thought occurring to him.

“How do we know she isn’t being tracked?” He asked, speaking slowly and trying to keep his voice from being accusatory. Everyone looked at him, then her. Ruby shrunk back.

“Frank-“ Ray said.

“Is that so ridiculous? They just let us have her!” They were all quiet upon thinking about it. It wasn’t ridiculous. None of them wanted to consider it, and it seemed like a breach of trust both ways. Gerard crouched down in front of her and looked into her eyes.

“Has anyone ever given you something, or… attached something to you.” She shook her head violently. “Has anyone been watching you, or following you. Do they always seem to know where you are?”

The girl appeared to think deeply before saying the word “No” into the crowded room. 

“That settles it then,” Gerard said, standing back up. “She’s not a spy. And I say fuck it- we’ll send two people out for food tomorrow and keep a close watch on the horizons. If no one shows up we go home.”

Everyone nodded. It was a sensible plan. 

“Okay, now can we please go to bed?” Mikey asked. 

They shuffled to their assigned places, three separate livelihoods winding down across the strange house. Ray and Ruby sat on the bottom bunk, side by side, while he recalled a bedtime story from his childhood. 

Mikey rolled his eyes and pushed Pete away from him. He rolled out a blanket and put his pack down as a pillow, then looked over at them with wide eyes in a silent plea. They shook their head incredulously and laid down on the makeshift and highly uncomfortable bed, then pulled Mikey down. 

Gerard stared at the ceiling, laying on the dusty bed with his arms behind his head, always thinking at a million miles an hour. Frank leapt on top of him, straddling his waist, and kissing him through a smile. It was always Frankie that pulled him back to the real world.

Ray tucked Ruby into the top bunk and whispered a goodnight. Pete stared at the back of Mikey’s head, sighed happily, and slipped an arm around his waist. Frank fell on the bed next to Gerard, breathing deeply and falling asleep tangled together.

-

“I’m not sure I can get into literature outside of comics, Gee,” Frank said. He had his head laying in Gerard’s lap, and Gerard was playing with his hair lightly.

“I know a lot of the stuff BL/ind makes us read makes you wanna actually go blind, or a least shoot your brains out, but the stuff they don’t show you… that’s the good stuff,” Gerard said. Frank looked up at him behind lacy eyelashes and Gerard couldn’t help but smile and lean closer to him while he talked.

“I just don’t think I could process that many words, man.” 

“What if I read to you, it can be something we do together.” He touched Frank’s cheek softly.

“Like we don’t do enough together already,” Frank said. He grinned wolfishly up at him.

“Do we spend too much time together?” Gerard asked, as thought he had just come to the realization that they barely spent time not together. His eyebrows scrunched together and he looked up.

“Yes,” Ray said. He was kicked back in the only piece of furniture in the room, a faded upholstered chair. Frank sent him a glare. The girl was lounging in the middle of the floor, drawing on paper Gerard had given her. Bright light filtered in through the dirty windows and covered them all in white light. 

“Shut up Toro,” Frank said. His chest bounced up and down with his laughter. 

“No, seriously. I don’t understand how you guys do it. Don’t you get tired of each other?” Gerard and Frank looked at each other again, then broke out into huge grins.

“Not really, no,” Gerard said, glancing back over at Ray. Ray shook his head, unconvinced.

“Well…” Frank said.

“Fuck off,” said Gerard. He pulled on the section of Frank’s hair that was in his palm, and Frank made a choking noise, his eyes widening. He glared at Gerard and hit him on the knee with the back of his hand. Gerard tried unsuccessfully to hold back a laugh and was glad when he saw neither Ray nor Ruby were paying any attention to them. Frank’s eyes sparkled as he stared deeply into Gerard’s again and they lost themselves there for a minute, in each other’s eyes. 

“We should do something fun, for the little one,” Frank said, breaking away and watching Ruby. She looked over at him and frowned curiously.

“Like what?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know. Show her how to catch one of those Racer snakes. Give her a gun. Dig holes.” Frank shrugged. The other two stared at him like he was growing gills on his forehead or something.

“What? That’s what I did when I got here,” he said defensively.

“You weren’t a five year old girl, Frank,” Gerard said. Ruby huffed and turned back to her paper. A minute later she held up a scribbled drawing of an angry noodle. Or well, it could have been a snake. Ruby point at the drawing stubbornly and Frank cheered, taking that as a win.

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about,” he said. He jumped to his feet and ran out the door, Ruby grinned then ran after him. Gerard looked at Ray, shrugged, and got up to follow. 

“Don’t let her get too close,” Gerard called out. Frank was already scouting out rocks and holes in the ground and pointing excitedly.

“Stop pretending to be a parent,” he said. Gerard sighed, but shut up all the same. 

“Okay,” Frank said, crouching down and looking at the ground. Ruby watched him closely, enraptured. “We’re looking for Racer snakes, those ones aren’t poisonous. They still bite, but they won’t kill ya. Easy to find too, they love the sun. And there’s plenty of that here. Speedy little fuckers though, gotta be quick to catch one.” He spun in a circle, shading his eyes and walking closer to the road.

“There!” He spotted something curled up near the cracking asphalt. “Racers are reddish with some striping down the back. Gotta be careful of anything else.”

Ruby followed Frank across the road, the two of them creeping closer to the coil. In one quick motion Frank surged forward and grabbed the snake right behind it’s head, then held it up like a trophy. He yelled and cheered and Ruby joined him, jumping up and down. Gerard walked closer, mildly impressed and Ray watched from the doorway. 

“There’s no way you just caught that,” Gerard said. Frank smirked and held it up in front of his face. It writhed in his hand, opening its mouth in protest. 

“Isn’t it cute?” Frank asked. He gestured for Ruby to come closer. “Here, hold out your hand."

She did so hesitantly and frank replaced his fingers with hers, keeping his hand wrapped tightly over hers for support. Ruby’s eyes sparkled with excitement, making Frank laugh cheerfully.

“Alright, that’s enough,” he said. “Time to let this dude go.” Ruby let go reluctantly and Frank motioned for everyone to move back. He gently tossed the snake away from them and hopped backward to avoid being bitten. The snake wove back and forth on the ground, tearing off in the opposite direction, showing off it’s totally awesome speed.

-

Mikey and Pete left early in the morning on the hunt for food. They weren’t fond of plans, meaning they walked aimlessly for hours, hoping their feet would lead them to a gold mine on their own. Mikey always enjoyed the time he got to spend with Pete where no one else was around. He felt awkward in front of the others, even if Frank and Gerard were so openly lovey-dovey now, Mikey could not bring himself to do it. He didn’t even like acknowledging the part of him that wanted to hold Pete’s hand as they walked or liked staring at their lips. Really, he outright refused to think about it. No thinking, just doing. If he didn’t think about it, he was allowed to do it all.

Pete bumped their shoulder against Mikey’s. They were grinning in that maniacal and oh so cute way that Mikey loved. 

“What?” He asked. Pete shrugged and made a face that read ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’. Mikey could kick them. “You know what I’m thinking about?”

“What are you thinking about, Mikey Way?” ‘You’ he wanted to say, but he held his tongue.

“Where the fuck are we going?” Pete shook their head and snorted.

“Fuck if I know, I just want some god damn food.” They walked in silence for a few paces.

“Would you ever fuck your clone?” Mikey asked. 

“Of course, dude, c’mon. Without a doubt,” Pete said, not missing a beat.

“You don’t think that’s weird at all?”

“No. It’s me. I’m fucking hot, dude, of course I’d want to bang me. And it’d probably be the best sex of my life.” Mikey thought that over.

“I would have to agree, but I do think it would be kind of weird,” he said. “Okay, what about a ghost?”

“Would I fuck a ghost? If they existed, sure. Why the hell not?” Pete said. Mikey prickled at that. He didn’t like the idea of Pete and someone else. Even if they were dead.

“What about you?” Pete asked.

“No. No, I don’t think I would.” Pete mumbled something like ‘fair enough’ and they moved on. Mikey didn’t realize he was frowning until Pete pointed it out. He tried to brush them off, but they were stubborn.

“What’s got you all worked up, Mikes. Tell me!” They stopped abruptly and folded their arms over their chest. “I’m not moving until you fess up.”

Mikey sighed. “Nothing is up, Pete. I’m just hungry and hot is all.” Pete approached him slowly, getting closer and closer until they were face to face, an inch apart. They grabbed Mikey’s shoulders and held him in place.

“Yes you are, Mikes.” Then they winked and walked past, already forgetting why they had stopped in the first place. Mikey shook his head incredulously and ran to catch up. He loved the way Pete’s hands felt on him. The frown disappeared from his face, replaced with full bodied laughing and twinkling eyes.

And as he looked over at them behind the hair that had fallen in front of his face, he realized that he was truly in deep. He had a huge fucking crush on Pete Wentz.

-

They never actually found a market, but they did find a guy who took them to a guy who took them to a farm. It took all day, but they ended up with fresh vegetables and that was just about gold to them.

Mikey tossed a cucumber at Pete, who look at him with eyebrows raised.

“Don’t say it,” Mikey said, rolling his eyes. Pete held up their hands.

“Wasn’t gonna say anything.” But they still had a devilish sparkle to their eye. Mikey took the wooden crate of veggies from Pete and traded them for some batteries he had stolen from a vending machine. It wasn’t a full meal or anything, but it could probably hold them over until they got back home. He snagged a bottle of apple juice and a packet of crackers while in there as well. 

The only downside was that they had to carry the box all the way back to the others and it was heavy. They took turns holding it, until their wrists ached and their backs were sore. When it was Pete’s turn to carry again, Mikey snuck his hand in and pulled out a carrot. He took a bite with a loud crunch and Pete glanced over at him, making a face.

“What? I’m hungry, you should be too. All we’ve had today are those protein bars I brought. I swear if the lot of us keep going on trips like this we’re gonna fuck up our bodies real bad. Starvation is no shit.”

“No, dude, I’m so mad at you right now. I’m so fucking hungry, and you’re just eating in my face.” Mikey laughed teasingly, then held the carrot up to Pete’s face so they could take a bite too.

“See this is what I’m talking about. We gotta find a better way to carry food on our trips.”

“You know, I’d love a better way of carrying this food.” They shifted the box so it pressed on a different part of their arm and groaned.

“I’m not taking it back yet, dude. It’s only been like five minutes.”

“How much farther?” They asked. Mikey shrugged and looked at the horizon.

“I don’t even know if we’re going the right direction to be honest,” he said and Pete scoffed indignantly.

“Alright on that note I’m taking a break.” They put the box on the ground by their feet and sighed in relief, shaking their arms out. 

“I suppose that’s fair. Take a veggie, man.” He plopped onto the ground next to the crate and finished his carrot and Pete sat down next to him, trying to shade their eyes from the sun.

“Fuck, it’s bright.”

“Is it?” Mikey said, looking at him blankly. “What an astute observation. Do you hear that?” He put a hand to his ear and feigned concern. “BLI is calling, they want you as the new head scientist.”

Pete’s mouth dropped open. “You are being such a bitch to me right now.” They dug in the crate and pulled out a couple green beans, popping them into their mouth and chewing them like candy. “I literally never thought I would enjoy a vegetable so much.”

“Agreed,” Mikey said. He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and grabbed the water from in it. He took a long drink then passed it to Pete. “We’re gonna die out here.” 

“What makes you say that?” Pete squinted against the sun.

“Cause everyone does.”

“Everyone dies,” Pete retorted. Mikey ignored them.

“I know I gave up a long life when I left Bat city, but fuck, I don’t wanna die. Not yet at least.” Pete suddenly grew serious too.

“You’re not gonna die yet, Mikey. You can’t.” Mikey dragged his eyes away from the scenery and looked at them.

“Why’s that?”

“Cause I’ll miss ya too much.” They broke out in a grin. Mikey smiled uncontrollably and shook his head.

“We should probably get going again.” 

-

“She has to pee, will you go out with her?” Ray asked. Ruby hid behind his legs. Gerard sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He mumbled a ‘sure’ and lead her out around the back, respectively turning his back and walking a few steps away. She coughed to signal she was done and he turned back around. The moon was just a sliver in the sky and it was especially dark, making it hard to see the girl. Gerard’s heart rate picked up speed when he realized he didn’t really know where she was at all. She had disappeared.

“Ruby?” His voice shook. He settled down, listening for her breathing or footsteps or anything. Suddenly, she appeared right in front of him, something hanging from her fist.

“Racer!” She said. The snake was twisting and turning violently in her grip, almost catching them both with it’s fangs.

“Fuck!” Gerard screamed. His hand darted out, seized the snake, and tossed it as far away as he could, then he took Ruby’s hand and rushed her back towards the house.

“Not a racer,” he said, panting. “Sidewinder. Very fucking venomous.”

When he relayed the story to the others, all crowded in the living room, Mikey was the first to respond.

“Was it a cobra?” He asked, suddenly interested in the story.

“No, you idiot, there are no cobras around here,” Frank said, now apparently their resident expert on snakes.

“It was a Sidewinder,” Gerard said.

“Ah, that’s not even that dangerous. Takes 2 bites to kill! What you really need to be scared of is the Mojave rattlesnake. Those boys are baaaad news. Venom’s 10 times strong than any other snake in the U.S.” Frank said. 

“Well, I’ll be sure to from now on. Tell that to her, why don’t you?” Gerard said, rolling his eyes. Frank was ecstatic anyways. He reached a hand out and beckoned Ruby to him.

“Look, kiddo. Snakes are awesome, but they’re also really scary. No more catching snakes… without me.” He added the last part quietly and winked playfully at her before she scuttled off to play with some cards.

“I don’t like snakes,” Ray said. “They always get into everything.”

Frank nodded solemnly. “That’s true. You aren’t a real zone rat if you haven’t spent a night cuddled up with a snake.” It was true, snakes liked the warmth of human bodies and clothes and bags, and often wound up in places they weren’t meant to be. The desert was fucking dangerous, man.

-

Frank and Gerard switched with Pete and Mikey that night, stuck sleeping out on the living room floor. Frank didn’t mind that much, though. He looked over at Gerard, thinking about how much he missed being alone with him. He was beaming when he walked over and put a hand on his cheek, lifting his chin up and pulling his brain from its deep thoughts. A grin spread over Gerard’s face, and he waited for Frank to come in close. Frank obliged. He lowered his head down, and pressed his lips against Gerard’s, smiling into his sweet lips. Gerard reached up and tugged on the collar of his shirt, pulling him deeper into the kiss and Frank’s thumb caressed his face lightly in soothing circles. Their eyes closed on the rest of the world and opened in a world of their own.

Frank pulled away, just a hairsbreadth between them. Their noses touched and it made Frank giggle and lean in again. In a sweeping movement Gerard stood up, switching from being below Frank to towering over him, and kissed him again. He let his hands roam, exploring freely. When they parted again, they were both flushed and giddy. Frank grabbed Gerard’s forearm, slid his hand down and linked their fingers.

“Come on,” he said. He bit his lip to hold back a laugh and towed Gerard behind him into the night. He kissed him under the stars and let the sliver of moonlight illuminate the space between their bodies. It was easy to set themselves free in the darkness, and the air was cooling on their hot skin. No matter that there were snakes, Frank thought. He didn’t care, his mind was consumed with all things Gerard.

-  
When they all rose the next morning alive and not surrounded by dracs and scarecrows, they figured they were probably safe to go home. And boy were they all ready to be home. Even Ruby, who didn’t even know what home was. They walked all day, and by nightfall, they finally made it.

“Well, Ruby…” Mikey said, spreading his arms out. “Home sweet home.”

They introduced Cherri Cola and Death Defying to her, and though she was really shy at first, they had all noticed her starting to open up and trust them more. Frank thought she was realizing that she wasn’t in danger anymore, she was learning to trust them, and beginning to have fun. A child deserved to have fun, he thought. A child deserved to have a family, too.

-

Frank was woken in the middle of the night by a tugging on the covers. He opened his eyes slowly, ignoring their resistance, and blinked the blurriness away. Ruby was standing at the edge of the bed, staring at him with her hands held tightly against her chest. Frank startled, propping himself up on his arm. 

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” He said, keeping his voice low. She shook her head, then sniffled and wiped at her face. He recognized the look in her eyes, one he had worn many times.

“Bad dream?” He asked. She nodded hesitantly, then stepped closer and clutched the blanket with both hands. Frank melted at the sight of this scared little girl coming to him to chase off a nightmare. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be a father, and if so why was he so scared before.

“You wanna sleep here tonight?” He asked. She nodded and rested her chin on the mattress between her hands. Frank sat up, lifted her onto the bed and she crawled in between him and Gerard and snuggled up under the covers. Gerard groaned and turned onto his back, not waking. Frank laid back down facing her, and when she shifted closer to him, he tentatively reached out and gently rubbed up and down her arm. Her eyes fluttered closed and she was out like a light. It made Frank smile to himself.

It wasn’t until Gerard woke up in the morning that he realized there was a kid in their bed. He rolled over onto his side, and saw Ruby cradled beneath Frank’s arm, both sleeping deeply still even though sunlight was streaming in through the window. Frank had his mouth hanging open and his face pressed against the pillow. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen in his life. His heart swelled and his eyes welled up with happy tears. 

When he finally got up and left he walked to the kitchen and busied himself with making coffee. No one else was up yet, he was not usually the first one up, but he was enjoying it. He made his way back to the bedroom later and was just in time to catch Frank sit up and Ruby stir. He leaned against the door frame and waited for Frank to notice him.

“Good morning,” he said, a loving smile sweeping his face. Frank wiped a hand across his face and smiled back. Ruby sat up and leaned her back against the pillows, then waved a hand sleepily at him. Her hair was sticking up messily and her cheeks were tinged red.

“Morning,” Frank said. He stretched his arms out and began to get out of bed, but Gerard walked over and put a hand gently on his chest to stop him. He handed him the mug of coffee he was carrying, then ran a hand through his hair affectionately and gave him a short peck on the lips. He leaned over and handed Ruby a glass of milk. 

“Don’t spill that,” he said. She smiled shyly, holding the glass in front of her face. Frank pulled his legs up under him and sat cross-legged on top of the covers with his back leaned against the wall and Gerard sat with his legs swung over the edge, facing towards them. They made light, morning conversation while Ruby sipped her milk and listened. They felt, despite everything, like a normal family, and Gerard wondered when he had fallen so helplessly in love with Frank.


	10. Sugar, Spice, and Acts of Vice

It turns out, that when you admit to yourself that you have a huge crush, it only gets exponentially worse, as Mikey was finding out. Every time he looked at Pete his heart stopped and his body went all warm and fuzzy. They were like a drug, fucking with his brain and shit. And he was getting pretty tired of the whole ‘commitment issues’ thing he had going on, but he didn’t really know what to do about it. So he went to Frank, because he thought that Frank would probably be in a position to understand him. Not because Frank had commitment issues, but because Frank was involved with his brother and he was a totally genuine dude that would be okay talking about this kinda stuff.

“You and Gerard are dating, right?” He asked once he had finally gotten the guy alone. They sat at the back of the barn/house, leaning on the wall and sipping on beers. Frank choked on a mouthful of the liquid and spit it out onto the ground between them. “Gross, dude.”

“I wouldn’t say we’re… dating.” He avoided Mikey’s eyes shiftily. They were something, but they had never really talked about it.

“You wouldn’t say that?” Frank shook his head vehemently. “Fine, then I’ll say it. You guys are dating. You’re in love. You’re… probably fucking? Don’t- I don’t wanna hear about that part.”

“What are you trying to get at?”

“How do you do it?” Mikey sighed and stared off into the distance. “How do you allow yourself to fall in love with someone, when you know it’s not gonna last. I don’t mean that you two won’t last, but, well, nothing really lasts here. ‘Cept the sun and the sand. Everything else falls apart or dies.”

Frank waited before he spoke again. He knew Mikey didn’t mean anything by it, he was just being Mikey, but he didn’t wanna bullshit him when he was being so sincere. Even if he was being kind of an asshole about it.

“Well, if nothing lasts, neither would grief or heartbreak. I would much rather get this time with Gerard and risk getting hurt than not have it at all.” Frank watched him carefully. Mikey sucked in a breath then leaned his head back and looked to the sky. “Look, Mikey. You have to stop pretending like you don’t feel things, or else why did you even leave bat city? The universe likes balance, so either you ride it out in the middle lane the whole time or you embrace the peaks and valleys. You gotta have the dark times to make the light even brighter. That’s just how it works.” 

Mikey still wasn’t looking at him, but he could see his eyes watering. Frank put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into his side and Mikey leaned his head on Frank’s shoulder. He sniffled and wiped at his nose.

“So, get all your crying out now and then go tell Pete you're in love with them,” Frank said. Mikey laughed, but hot tears were already streaming down, because Frank was right. He was right about it all, and he couldn’t believe it had taken him so long to realize it. He closed his eyes and went to the place where he kept it all bottled up, and with a deep breath he decided to release it and to feel all of it. Really feel it. All the anger, the sadness, the frustration, the neediness, guilt, and even the love. All the things that made him human. 

And it hurt. It hurt so bad Mikey was speechless for a long time. He just rested his head on Frank and held a hand over his chest. He wanted to punch something and scream and sob and be held and loved and it was all so overwhelming all he could do was sit still and wallow. His brain fizzled out and he sat there, wading through all the emotions he had repressed for years. There were so many too that he couldn’t even identify, a mangled mess of in betweens.

“Thanks Frankie,” he said. His voice caught in his throat and his first thought was ‘fuck now he knows I’m crying’ and then he realized what he had just thought and laughed resignedly.   
Frank could know he was crying all he wanted. So he stayed there and cried for what felt like hours with Frank sat next to him passing out kind words and little acts of comfort when needed, because Frank was the best friend in the entire world.

Things were different after that, not in a big way, but in an important one. Mikey was happier and lighter, and it was kind of driving everyone crazy, but Frank just looked at him and laughed. Pete thought he was crazy, and resorted to asking him every few minutes who he was and what had happened to the real Mikey, but every time he just grinned at them and shrugged his shoulders. Ray was ecstatic about the change, though, because Mikey was being overly nice to him and every time he asked to hang out he agreed, and they took Ruby along with them.

Ruby had quickly grown attached to all of them, especially Ray, but also Gerard and Frank in a weird way. They guessed that it was because she had been taught that family were parents and parents were a couple, so their presence comforted her. In any case, it was adorable, and neither of them minded much. Of course, as soon as she started to open up to them, she started to talk, and talk and talk and talk. Once she realized she could speak and be heard and no one would yell at her, they would even be interested in what she had to say, she never stopped talking. Until they asked about her life in Bat City, and then she shut up real quick.

“Gerard?” Frank called out. The house was empty. Mikey had taken Ray and Ruby for a ride in the car, and Pete was away again, but Gerard was supposed to be around here somewhere. Frank frowned. He wouldn’t leave without telling him, right? There was no answer, just the ringing of his voice in his ears. He left the house and wandered around the exterior, hoping to find the man leaned against the back with a stale cigarette in his mouth. Frank sighed, he was still missing, and went into the main house.

It was quiet in there, too, nothing but the muffled sound of speaking coming from behind the door of Dr. D’s room. Cola’s door was propped open with a shoe, and Frank leaned forward and peeked in. Cola was sitting on the floor with his head back against the bed, legs bent at the knee and eyes closed. Frank watched curiously, then realized how creepy he was being and knocked cautiously on the door. Cola opened his eyes and turned his head slowly. 

“What’s up, Frank?” Frank’s cheeks reddened a little. He opened the door and shuffled inside, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Can’t find Gee, have you seen him?” Cola shook his head.

“No, I haven’t. He isn’t around?”

“I don’t know…” Frank said. Cola scowled.

“I thought he’d have told you if he left,” he said. Frank sighed and nodded, moving forward to sit on the bed. Cola lifted himself off the floor and sat down in his radio chair, swiveling it around so that they were face to face.

“I thought so too, but I can’t find him anywhere.”

Cola leveled his gaze at Frank, sensing that there was something else on his mind. “I’m positive he will show up. He’s like a cockroach, that one, never dies. Same goes for his brother. Something in that Way blood I guess.” A small smirk touched Frank’s lips.

“I believe that,” he said, remembering Mikey’s multiple brushes with BLI. “It’s just that, well, I was thinking… actually I was talking with Mikey and, uh. He mentioned, well, he asked about Gerard and I. If we were dating and I- I don’t know. Should I know? It’s kind of bugging me.” Frank’s entire face was burning by the time he finished stuttering through his thoughts and he gave up altogether by throwing his face into his hands. God, this was so embarrassing. Cola just grinned helplessly at him the whole time, his eyes sparkling. Frank didn’t even know why he had asked him, he just wanted someone to ask about this and didn’t think anyone else could really help him. Mikey had come to him because no one else would get it, but who was he supposed to go to? Usually it would be Gerard, but he couldn’t talk to Gerard about himself.

“Sorry I feel so stupid asking this. Like, people are fighting and dying out there and I’m here asking for relationship advice,” Frank said miserably. 

“Asking for advice about anything is never stupid, alright? Besides, it doesn’t matter if we were on the fucking moon, people will always fall in love. Where there’s people, there’s love. Don’t feel like you can’t be in love just cause there’s shit in the world.” Frank paused, retracting his hands and looking at him hopefully. 

“Let me tell you a secret, Frank. Gerard is head over heels for you, and I can tell you feel exactly the same. If you asked him out tonight, he would say yes. But I don’t think you have to. It’s alright to take things slow, don’t let anyone pressure you. Even if he did say no, you’d be okay. I had a girlfriend a long time ago who I loved a lot, but it didn’t work out. I was devastated then, it felt like the end of the world, but I moved on and now I don’t think about her at all.”

“But you still love her?” Frank said, noting the wistful glint in his eyes. Cola nodded sadly.

“Once you love someone like that, you never really stop. But the point is that my life didn’t end in that moment. I got past it and I healed.” He paused, then added. “I think you should talk to Gerard about it.”

“Alright,” Frank said. He felt nauseous at just the idea. He was terrified of being vulnerable and ruining what they had, even if it was painfully obvious that Gerard liked him. The notion that he could be rejected by the one person he had let invade every inch of his being, that was what haunted him late at night. “Thanks, Cola. I will. As soon as I find that bastard.”

Cola chuckled and waved a quick goodbye. Frank felt a little better, not much, but enough.

-

“How fast are we going now? Woah! That was a big bump, wasn’t it, Mikey? You’re going so fast! Ray, aren’t we going fast? Where are we going?” Ruby asked, giggling in between questions and yelling to be heard over the sound of the radio. Mikey shook his head and sped up, trying to drown her out with road sounds. Ray leaned over and turned the radio up even more and a Misfits song blared out. Ruby was hovering over his shoulder, looking out at the road.

“Sit down, Ruby, you’re gonna go flying out of this car if you stand up any higher,” Ray said, gently shoving her into the backseat again. Ruby giggled and stood back up as soon as her back hit the chair. 

They stopped at The Nest, and Ray ran off looking for whatever it was he needed, leaving Mikey and Ruby exploring aimlessly.

“Who’s that?” Ruby asked, pointing to a lady kicked back on the porch of a house. She was eyeing them suspiciously, following them as they walked. Mikey shrugged, not looking away from her. Instincts told him something was not right with her from the way she was watching them. She stood up from the steps of the porch slowly and sauntered their way, a lazy smirk plastered on her face. She was tall, with bright orange hair that was cropped short. Mikey’s hand circled Ruby’s arm as she wandered closer.

“Hi there,” she said, bending down to Ruby’s height. Ruby smiled brightly, then glanced back at Mikey.

“She’s shy around strangers.” The woman nodded like she understood and stood up, she was Mikey’s height. 

“I’m sure she is. Where’d you find her?”

“What’s it matter to you?” Mikey said. He crossed his arms defensively, deeming this woman a nuisance but not a danger.

“Well, I’ve seen you around here before and you’ve never had a little girl with you. Now you show up with one out of no where. Doesn’t that seem a little weird to you?”

Mikey hesitated, knowing the story was not as straightforward as he wished. Then it clicked why she was asking, she thought he had kidnapped her. Maybe even worse.

“She’s safe with us. Not that it’s really any of your business. Ask her yourself, I don’t care.” She gave him a once over, then crouched down again.

“Are you okay? You can tell me if you need help,” she said, lowering her voice in a nonthreatening way. Ruby smiled shyly and raised a thumb’s up, nodding happily. She stood back up. “Alright. But if you do anything to her I will make sure you never have any kids.”

Hey eyes flickered down to his crotch, making the meaning behind her words clear, and began to walk away, then she paused and turned around.

“Oh, and listen, little lady. Men are only good for one thing,” she smirked. “Target practice.” She laughed and returned to her spot on the porch, leaving Mikey stunned and Ruby making fun of him. Suddenly Ray was at his elbow, tugging at his shirt and pulling him away from the weird encounter.

-

It was getting late in the day, and Frank sat on the stairs to the house, knees pulled up with his chin resting on them. He stared at the ground in front of him and hummed his favorite song. He was having one of those moments again. Those ones he got sometimes, where everything seemed to be tinged in grey and soaked in sadness. He lost himself so thoroughly he didn’t even notice Gerard when he came back.

This time it was Gerard who pulled Frank back from the unknown with a careful hand on his shoulder. Frank startled and looked up, took in his face and leapt to his feet. He engulfed Gerard in a hug, wrapping his arms tight around his waist and nuzzling his head into his chest. He smelled of thick sweat and must. 

“You’re back!” He said softly into the fabric of his shirt.

“Yeah. Sorry, Frankie.” He looked mildly apologetic.

“Where did you go?” He asked. Gerard was an inch away, looking down on him, and his face lit up in a million different warm colors that sent Frank’s head reeling. He was so pretty, it was truly astounding. 

“I got you something,” Gerard said, grin widening impossibly. 

“What?” Frank had not been expecting that. Gerard dug into his pocket and pulled out a thin chain. He held it up to Frank’s face, there was something dangling at the end. “You got me a necklace?”

“Take it,” Gerard said, nudging it into his hands. “I made it myself. That’s why I was gone and I didn’t wanna tell you because that would ruin the surprise!” Frank looked at him in wonder, eyes large and affectionate.

“You made it? For me?” He turned the pendant over in his fingers. It was round, and thick, made of metal with a star scratched into it. Gerard took his hands excitedly.

“I went out to Guinness and asked him to help me with it. He’s good with that kind of shit, knows how to work metal. It’s just a piece of scrap metal that I hammered and then I carved the star into it with some tools. The chain I bought, but, it was a lot of work, actually.” Gerard laughed airily. 

“So that’s where you’ve been all day?” Gerard nodded sheepishly. “Gerard, this is… you didn’t have to do all that.” Frank blushed lightly.

“Do you like it?” He titled his head quizzically.

“Of course I do. I would love it even if you gave me a tooth on a string, Gee, simply because it’s from you,” Frank said. Gerard grinned and shook his head, his hair falling in front of his eyes, still as fiery as ever.

“I can do that too, if you want.” Then they were both laughing, and falling in closer, sharing each other’s space.

“No, you dork. This is perfect. I love it. I can’t believe you did all this for me.” The chain was long enough that he could slip it over his head. It felt good, sat there against his chest. This man was so tangled into him and his life, there was no going back, not now and not ever.

“I just wanted to do something special for you, because well…” Gerard took a deep breath, steeled himself. “Because I think I love you, Frankie.” He bit his lip nervously. Frank’s breath caught in his throat and he stopped breathing. Everything stood still, he swore if a mouse took a shit he would’ve heard it. Gerard loved him. He loved him! Then he choked on the air stuck in his throat and his own spit and spluttered all over the hushed silence. Gerard looked at him wildly and slapped him on the back, while he tried desperately to gain control of his chest again.

“Fuck,” Frank coughed out. “I pictured this going a lot differently in my head.”

Gerard must have thought he was crazy, because he hadn’t said a word yet. He looked hurt and fragile, and Frank couldn’t figure out why until he remembered that in all the commotion he had forgotten to say it back. He mentally kicked himself, then leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.

“I love you, too.” He smiled into Gerard’s mouth and there were tears and watery smiles, passionate kisses that stole their breath away and many more ‘I love you’s exchanged. They had something special, they knew it then. They had fallen in love amongst chaos, pure and unbreaking, they would get the chance to fight side by side, like something out of a Greek myth. This was what it was all about, right? Living life freely, and dying just the same.

-

It was time Mikey took a page out of Frank’s book, and he knew it. It was time, wasn’t it? He had pussy-footed around it for long enough, making excuses, but Pete would be back tonight and he had done a lot of thinking. He waited on the edge of the bed for them, chewing on his lip anxiously. Fuck. He heard the door open and close, and knew from the footsteps it was them. The door knob turned furtively, driving Mikey crazy with impatience.

“You’re still awake?” Pete asked, looming in the doorway. It was late, and usually Mikey would have been long asleep by now. Pete would have slipped into bed beside him and everything would be fine, but no Mikey just had to test the waters and maybe throw a shark in while he was at it. 

He nodded, face remaining stony. The shadow behind him nodded in agreement, and Mikey was glad someone at least agreed with him. The place was lit only by candle light, and the place glowed a deep orange, the kind that reminds you of antiquity. The light flickered on the walls, casting long and distorted shadows. At the center, a bright flame upon a darkened wick, dancing back and forth in a pool of hot wax. How interesting that wax is perfectly clear when hot but the moment it drips and falls to the floor it is once again cloudy and solid. Wax has mastered the art of change, in so many more ways than Mikey had.

Pete shut the door behind them and stepped forward, sitting next to Mikey on the bed. “What is it?” They asked. They looked at him closely, worry written all over their face.

“Why me?” Pete grinned despite themself.

“Way to be cryptic.” Mikey sent them a glare.

“I mean it!” He said. Pete sighed and resigned themself to a talk they really didn’t want to have. They had been counting on melting into bed next to a warm body after a long day, not getting the cold shoulder and having to talk feelings. Though, if they knew anything about Mikey, they knew this had to be important, because Mikey didn’t like serious talks anymore than they did.

“What are you talking about, Mikes?” They asked. Mikey shook his head in frustration.

“Why do I get to call you Pete, but no one else does?” He asked. Pete froze, completely caught off guard.

“I don’t know,” they mumbled, avoiding eye contact. And oh, fuck, this was bad news. Mikey chewed on his bottom lip, this was not going how he wanted so far.

“Don’t bullshit me! C’mon, you do know. Tell me,” Mikey softened and tilted Pete’s face toward him curiously. What he was hoping for was some sort of ‘Oh, Mikey! It’s cause you’re different and I love you!’ but that was not what he got.

“Don’t Mikey, please.” Pete ripped their face out of Mikey’s hands. They didn’t want to talk about this, not now. Anything but this. Mikey was taken aback, but the damage had already been done.

“I didn’t think-“

“No, you never do.” Pete threw their hands up. Mikey’s mouth parted, heartache dripping from his lips.

"Why are you being so mean to me?” He asked indignantly. He felt like he was falling apart at the seams.

“Because Mikey!” They snapped. “I’ve been misgendered all my life. Bullied and beat up for who I am, in Bat city and here too. No matter where I go the world insists on punishing me. I left that name behind when I left home. It only reminded me of my dad, that bastard. The only reason Gerard and Cola and D know it is because I used to scream it in my nightmares and when they asked who that was I had to tell them it was me. I was screaming about myself, because of all the shit that name held. Until you came along and asked me for it and for some reason I just told you. I trusted you with it, you didn’t take it from me like everyone else and now I feel… better about it. Like now it reminds me of you, instead.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.” Mikey looked at them sincerely. “You know I would never let anyone do that now, right?” Pete sighed.

“You’re lucky to be a straight man, Mikes.” Mikey grew still and Pete looked over at him curiously. He was looking back guiltily.

“Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think I’m straight.” Mikey’s soft eyes peered at them, freezing them in place.

“What makes you say that?” They said it slowly, not really expecting an answer and instead watching him closely. Mikey blinked forward and pressed his lips to Pete’s briefly before quickly pulling away and sitting back. Pete was taken completely by surprise, but was not going to let him off so easily.

They licked their lips, watching Mikey question everything before their eyes. They put a hand firmly on the back of his head and guided his lips back to theirs. Slowly Pete began to move against him, and he moved back. Mikey was gradually shaking off the stiffness of fear. He forgot about all their angry words and his pointless inhibitions. He let Pete take him away from it all.

-

They decided to take advantage of the empty house while they could, retreating to their room and closing the door on the world. Gerard smirked and looked Frank up and down in a painfully slow motion, then shoved him down onto the bed. Frank sat up quickly and pulled Gerard down by his collar. Their lips crashed against each other and pressed hard. They quickly found a rhythm and moved together. Gerard snaked a hand around Frank’s neck and Frank dug his fingers into Gerard’s hair. Gerard moaned softly and threw his head back into Frank’s hand. With his neck now exposed, Frank dipped down and bit the soft skin there, and Gerard melted in his hands. He moved back to admire the red spot, then grinned evilly. 

Gerard recovered enough to tug Frank’s shirt off recklessly and trail quick kisses up his torso, making him shiver against his light touch. Gerard leaned over him, crimson hair tickling his nose and eyes bright. Frank reached a hand up to tuck his hair away and dragged him down for another kiss. They were sloppy and desperate, grinding down against each other. Frank tugged at Gerard’s shirt and he took it off, quickly followed by the rest of their clothes. They were all roaming hands and fervid touches. Sultry bodies on a soaked bed.

Frank made the prettiest noises. His mouth hung wide open, bottom lip trembling. There was pleasure written all over his face, traveling up through his veins. He was shaking, hands tangled in red hair. The pressure built until finally he rounded the corner with a deep breath, then fell back down to earth. Gerard met his eyes, they were both covered in sweat and hot to the touch.

“Fuck, Frankie.” Frank grinned wolfishly in between gasps for air, then threw Gerard to the side and jumped on top of him. His suntanned skin glistened as he hovered just above Gerard’s face, rubbing a thumb across the center of his neck. It was his turn now.

-

“There’s a party tonight,” Ray said, walking in through the front door flanked by Mikey and Ruby. Frank looked backwards at him from the couch. 

“What kind of party?” He asked.

“Some idiot like a mile east,” Mikey chimed in, throwing himself into their new upholstered chair. He laid sideways on it, his legs across one arm and head leaned against the other. Ruby climbed into the desk chair and sat cross legged, picking up her crayons and doodling in one of Gerard’s notebooks.

“Hey, it could be fun,” Ray said, shrugging. Gerard meandered out of his room, bleary eyed and cheeks flushed. He rubbed his eyes and sat on Frank’s lap, making Frank groan and giggle.

“What’s wrong with him?” Ray asked. 

“He’s just sleepy,” Frank said. He rubbed up and down Gerard’s arm and kissed him on the back of the head. “Good nap?” Gerard nodded uninterestedly. “Ray says there’s a party tonight.”

“A party?” Gerard said, his eyes lighting up.

“See! We should go, we haven’t done anything fun in ages.”

“He’s right,” Frank pointed out. Mikey relented.

“Fine, I’ll see if Pete wants to go too. What about baby R?” He jammed his thumb in the her direction. She stuck her tongue out at him then went back to ignoring them all.

“She can come along,” Gerard said, clearing his throat. His voice sounded scratchy and Frank bit his lip so as not to laugh. Gerard pinched him on the leg where no one would see. Frank hummed and wrapped his arms around Gerard’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder.

“You think it’s a good idea to take a kid to a party?” Ray asked. 

“Why not? She’ll be safe, it’s Billie’s party right?” Ray nodded. “It usually is. People there are nice. She’ll have fun.”

“I love nontraditional parenting,” said Frank. He was all on board, a party sounded fun.

-

The party was… not very fun. At first is had been, he had danced with Gerard and jumped up and down amongst the sweaty, smelly people and drank lots of vodka. It didn’t last very long. It was too exposed and crowded, making him feel claustrophobic. He closed his eyes, leaning against the wall, his head swirling.

Frank was nauseous. Nerves always seemed to settle in his stomach, churning relentlessly. His breathing shallowed out and his hand began to shake. Fuck. He glanced around the crowded room, bursting with people dancing and having fun, for the one person he knew could help him. He found Gerard in the exact same moment Gerard found him, and they made eye contact across the room.

Gerard felt the shift in the crowd even before Frank had subconsciously. The way people hushed in the quiet parts of songs and craned their necks for a better listen. The way they grew still and shuddered. He heard the wind pick up outside and rattle the walls and picked up on the faint rumble that was not good news. He searched for Frank and found him, saw the words in his eyes and jumped into action. They needed to get out of here. He paused, where was Ruby? Frank tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows until Gerard mouthed ‘Ruby’ to him.

Frank was closer to her, she was near the drinks, sipping on a juice box and watching everyone with sparkling eyes. Frank scooped her up, ignoring her protests and trying to focus his scattered brain. Gerard was herding Mikey and Pete from the crowd and shouting for Ray. The room was still thick with oblivious people partying, the hum of an engine blurred behind the loud music and booze. 

Frank held Ruby close and set his sights on Gerard, pushing through the crowd, and he was almost to him when the place exploded. He was assaulted by the bang of the wood walls cracking and windows shattering every which way. Dust, wood splinters, and glass shards rained overhead, sprinkling over him like tiny pieces of confetti but much less fun, and the whole place went up in a haze. Screams bounced around and echoed in Frank’s head. He fell to the floor, clutching desperately onto Ruby and covering her with his own body. He fought back the panic attack in favor of adrenaline that might save his life. Something sliced his arm, and it stung angrily, probably dripping blood, but Frank’s eyes were squeezed shut. 

He heard the unmistakable zap of guns and the thud of bodies hitting the ground, followed by evil laughs and choked sobs. Fear bubbled up in him and stopped him from thinking clearly. Then a hand was on the back of his shirt, lifting him up and dragging him to the side. He cried out and fumbled for his blaster, but when he blinked the smoke and debris away and stared up at the person manhandling him, he almost collapsed with relief. Gerard peered at him fearfully with a hand firmly on his wrist. He shoved Frank out through a fresh hole in the wall, that struck Frank as looking ike a mouth with gnawing teeth. 

A second later Ray squeezed through the hole too and they bolted. They ran as fast as their legs would take them back to base, and didn’t let any of it process until then. Mikey and Pete were waiting for them when they got there, pacing anxiously.

“Oh, fuck,” Pete said, throwing their arms around Gerard while Mikey tackled Ray. Frank set Ruby down on the ground gently, then Pete hugged him too. “I don’t know what I would do if you guys didn’t make it out.”

Mikey walked over to his brother awkwardly, standing in front of him and staring for a moment before relaxing and pulling Gerard close to him.

“Don’t leave me,” he whispered into his collar. Gerard tightened his grip and shook his head.

“I won’t.” Mikey looked over at Frankly fondly, who was swaying with his hands in his pockets. 

“Come here,” Mikey said. He gave him a quick hug that made Frank grin despite it all. “And you!” He said, directing it to Ruby. “Are one brave girl.” He picked her up and hugged her tight. She rested her head on his shoulder and sucked on her thumb sleepily. The situation had taken a toll on her mentally and physically, and she was silent and reclusive for the rest of the night. Gerard ruffled her hair and told her everything was okay, and they all retired to the living room. They chatted loudly about it, getting all of the jittery nerves out and running down the adrenaline until they were too tired to speak any longer.

It finally all came down on Frank once they were alone, and he clung to Gerard. He rested his forehead against his chest and sobbed, shaking violently. His teeth chattered from the built up anxiety. Not only was he dealing with the trauma of what had just happened, but he was also on the brink of falling into an episode of PTSD from every other time he had lost people like that. They were all so fucked up out here, what was even the point? But then pressed his ear against Gerard’s chest and felt his heart beating against his cheek and he remembered why it was all worth it. 

The whole time Gerard sat there and rubbed Frank’s back comfortingly and kissed the top of his head. He dealt with it in his own way, reliving the moment over and over in his head until he could feel the heat and smell the stench again. Sweat beaded against his neck and rolled down his back, and he was crying too. They all were. The worst, however, was watching Ruby’s face change when she finally came to the realization that the girl who had bent down and given her a juice box and patted her on the head did not make it out. The guy who had fist bumped her and helped her onto the table so she could sit without being stepped on did not make it out. Not the girls with the bold makeup, or the guy with the spiked hair. Not any of them. Barely a handful of people had made it out alive, their family made up a good portion of them. Their little family of cockroaches, who just couldn’t seem to die.


	11. I do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A great song to go with this chap is Losing My Religion by R.E.M. :)

“You’re being ridiculous,” Pete said, watching Mikey affectionately. They sidled up behind him and wrapped their arms around him, pulling him into a backwards hug and hooking their chin over his shoulder.

“I am not.” Pete could hear the pout on his face.

“What’s wrong, Mikey Way?” They spoke into Mikey’s neck, words tickling softly. “You’re so cute when you’re mad at me.”

“I’m going to shove my fist up your ass.” Clearly Mikey was not having it.

“Sounds like a good time,” Pete said. Mikey shook them off and sat on the edge of the bed. Pete followed, lingering in front of him. He reached out and grabbed one of Pete’s hands gently, turning it between his palms.

“Don’t leave,” Mikey said, his voice soft. Pete’s face fell, knowing they could no longer get away with joking.

“You can’t keep me all to yourself, Mikes,” they said. “There are people out there who rely on my messages.”

“I know.” Mikey looked down, hiding behind his blonde hair. “I don’t want you to go, though.”

“And I don’t wanna leave you. But I have to, you know that.”

“Can’t I just come with you?” He looked up with wide, hopeful eyes. Pete shook their head.

“It’s not really a partner job, Mikey. I gotta go alone.” Mikey sighed airily.

“I’ll miss you,” he said. Pete smiled all slow and lovingly, and pulled Mikey up and into them. They pressed their lips against his in a sweet, chaste kiss that Mikey immediately deepened. Pete giggled into his mouth and lazily twirled a piece of his hair around their finger. Mikey pulled away and rested his forehead on theirs, breathing deeply. 

“I’ll miss you too,” Pete said. They kissed Mikey under the ear and pulled away. Mikey sat back down onto the bed, looking at the floor sadly. “It won’t be long. Just a couple days. We can handle that, yeah?” They tilted Mikey’s chin up with one finger, looking into his eyes sincerely. Mikey gave them a small smile and they bent down to give him one last kiss. 

Then, they were gone. Out of their bedroom and out of the house, the door slamming behind them. Pete was always anxiously giddy before a work run, but this time they were also kind of glum. They cursed Mikey for being so god damn adorable and making this harder than it had to be. They trudged over to where the road started and slipped on their signature roller skates, which made travel much faster and easier. If Mikey had come with, it would have been slower and cumbersome, but still they wished he was here. It was also more dangerous, though, to use the roads, because that’s where the dracs tended to hang out. It wasn’t a safe job, at all, but it was theirs and it was important.

To make the time go faster they daydreamed about Mikey, imagining all the things he did that made their heart beat out of their chest. Like when he curled up against them on particularly bad days, or the lopsided smile he wore when he did something stupid. They pictured his hands on their face, and their ass too, and distracted themself with how dramatic and incredible the reunion would be this time. This was the first time Pete had left since they had kissed and become more… well romantic. 

They still couldn’t really believe it had happened. They had a crush on Mikey from just about day one, even if they hadn’t really known it until like a month later when Mikey had just gotten out of the shower and came into the room with just a towel around his waist and slick with water droplets. They snickered at the memory. Somehow they had hooked this incredibly attractive, formerly straight boy and now they were hanging off of each other 24/7. It made Pete grin uncontrollably. 

In the distance, they saw a group of dracs spread out across the road and swore. They dove off into the brush and shucked off their skates. They skirted off to the left until they stumbled upon another road, then went back to skating down the dirty concrete. The rest of the day went like this, swerving between groups of draculoids and roads until finally they reached their first destination. The Pit, Zone 6.

The Pit wasn’t really a pit, but was what used to be a river that now looked like a small canyon, completely dried up and empty. At the bottom, however, was where all the fun was hidden. Teenagers loved to hang out there, because it was out of the way and hidden, so it was usually pretty safe. There were kids milling about everywhere, laughing and drinking and smoking. Some were making out, some were beating each other into a pulp, but when Show Pony appeared at the top of the ridge, clatter broke out. Someone shouted out their name and yelled at everyone to shut up. Pete smirked, loving the attention, and slid down into the glorified ditch.

“What up, Show?” The boy who had shouted his name asked. He held out a hand and Pete performed their elaborate handshake that meant they was the real deal. 

“Gotta tag on a lot of dracs headed up this way. Might wanna clear out before then, or just be aware of the horizons. Something big is brewing, be careful.”

“You got it, dude. Or- wait. Can I call you dude?” He looked worried all of a sudden, and guilty like he had accidentally made a mistake. Pete laughed.

“Sure, dude’s pretty gender neutral these days anyways,” they said. The boy nodded in a relieved sort of way and slapped them on the arm playfully.

“Wanna hang around for a bit? We got the hard liquor and plenty of people who wanna fuck you.” Pete shook their head, putting their hands in their pockets.

“Nah, I’m kinda. Well, I’m off the market.” That made the boy stop. He looked like a scarecrow had just flown overhead.

“The Show Pony? Tied down? I can’t believe it! Yo, Grasshopper, get over here. Show’s got a- uh. Hey, what’d you say?” He tugged on the sleeve of a boy with blonde hair who had been facing the other direction, looking giddy with the excitement of new gossip. The danger of dracs headed their way had gone over all of their heads, but as soon as it got out that Show Pony had a partner it was the biggest news on the block.

Pete scratched the back of their head awkwardly. “A, uh, boyfriend,” they said, tentatively. Mikey would never know they said it, anyways. Grasshopper guffawed and clapped his hands together.

“How about that! A boyfriend, yeah? What’s his name? Tell us about him!” He asked. A girl to his left turned her head and nodded enthusiastically and pretty soon they had a crowd around them. Ah fuck, Pete thought.

“I don’t know that he’d want me going around flaunting him,” Pete said, eyeing the people around them nervously. They weren’t really sure where Mikey stood on the whole publicity thing.

“Come on, just a name?”

“How’d you meet?” Someone shouted. Pete shook their head and kind of smiled, relenting. 

“Fine, his name’s Kobra Kid. We met through a mutual friend, he kinda showed up at my house one day actually,” Pete said, chuckling. A couple people aww’ed in the crowd, even though the story wasn’t very good. 

“Is he cute?” A girl asked.

“Of fucking course he’s cute! He’s a fucking God in terms of hotness, I can’t believe I even got his attention.”

“Ohhhh, come on Show! Everyone knows you’re as hot as the sun!” 

The subject of Mikey came up so much throughout the rest of the day it was starting to get comical. God damnit, maybe they should have brought him along after all. They maneuvered around the zone telling everyone all about the dracs and Mikey until finally they got to the last person on the list. Of course, when the man asked what they had been up to lately, Pete didn’t even think before letting it slip.

“Well, I’ve got a boyfriend. As it seems the world is intent upon talking about today,” they said. Pete huffed and shrugged.

“You do, huh?” The burly man said. He was clearly living on his own, and was reaching the age in the zones where everyone else called you an elder. He had a bushy mustache and huge pit stains, and Pete would have been a little grossed out but really it wasn’t that bad. The man was friendly enough, and talking to people who had made it so long was always beneficial.

“Yessir. I kind of really miss him too.” Pete ran a hand through their hair, trying not to sound too cheesy. They really had to stop with this boyfriend shit by the time they got back or Mikey was going to freak. Or at least they thought he might, Mikey was a strange one and they never really knew how he would react to things.

“Come on in, Show Pony,” the man said. “It’s late, you must be tired.” He turned around and disappeared into the hot and sweaty barn. Inside it was wide open, just a single room, but lofty and littered with candles. It was homey, and Pete thought if they ever wanted to live on their own they would do something like this. It was comforting, and they could imagine Mikey with his feet kicked up on the sofa or sprawled across the bed in the corner. Maybe they would build a loft and sleep up there, and have incredible sex where they could be as loud as they wanted. Pete shook their head, they really needed to stop thinking about Mikey.

The man patted the couch and looked back at Pete, then went into the kitchen and grabbed a jar of water from the counter. Pete sat down on the couch and leaned back, sighing with the relief of being off their feet. The man paused next to the couch to hand Pete the water, then sat across from them in a well-used looking arm chair.

“Name’s Root Bear, people usually just call me Bear. Are you hungry? I don’t have much, I pretty much rely on myself these days, but I have a lizard I was gonna roast for dinner tonight and some boiled cactus. You can spend the night here, if you’d like.”

“That would be lovely, Bear,” Pete said, and they meant it too. They were used to spending the night in random places and with random people, and this seemed like a nice place to get some sleep. “And, uh, sure. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

Most people in the zones were young and new, and didn’t have the skills to survive on their own, so they relied on packaged or bought food, but this guy was totally legit. Catching and cooking his own shit, totally bad ass. Pete wanted to be like that when they got old out here. Mikey would probably like that too, he was absolutely the type to love being independent and self sufficient. And, ah, fuck, there they go again with the Mikey thing.

Bear had gotten up again to light the old fashioned stove and shove a thick looking lizard over the flame. He stayed there, fiddling with things, but called out to Pete over his shoulder.

“So, this boyfriend of yours. He got a name?”

“Kobra Kid. Not sure how much he’s gonna appreciate the whole world thinking we’re dating, though.”

“Now, if I remember correctly, you didn’t even hesitate when you called this Kobra Kid your boyfriend. Is he or is he not?”

“Ah, you see. That is an interesting question.” Pete put their arms behind their head and spoke to the ceiling. “He is in the sense that we make out a lot and sleep in the same bed every night.”

“This is a new thing, isn’t it?” Pete takes a long sip of water to avoid the question.

“Yes and no, man. We’ve been, like, cuddling for the past couple of months. Basically we’ve been attached by the hip since we met, but yeah. We didn’t kiss until a week ago.” Pete laughs a little, remembering the whole thing. “I’m still in shock about it, to be honest.”

“What took so long?”

“Huh?”

“What took you so long to make a move?”

“Well, I thought he was straight! And I didn’t make a move, it was all him. Well, mostly him.”

Bear scoffed then said, “Nobody’s straight out here.” He brought over a chipped ceramic plate with soggy looking cactus pieces on it and a charred lizard body. Okay, maybe they didn’t really want to live like this. Pete ate it anyways, because it was food and it was warm, and actually it wasn’t all that bad.

“How long have you been in the zones?” Pete asked. Bear thought for a minute. He was sitting back in the arm chair now, chowing down on his lizard.

“26 years.” 

“26? Holy shit, no wonder, you’re totally veteran status. How’d you do it?”

“I mind my own business and take care of my own shit, that’s how. You wanna survive out here, keep to yourself,” he said. Pete sort of grimaced at that. Okay, negative Nancy.

“Ain’t there any such thing as a long, happy life out here?” Bear burst out laughing.

“Just you saying that tells me you’re young. How old are you?”

“20.” 

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” he said, like that detail had given him everything he needed to know about Pete. It pissed Pete off just the tiniest bit. “I remember what I was like at 20, fuckin’ hell. No wonder you’re so hooked on that kid of yours.”

“Maybe,” they said. They thought that even if they were like 50 they would still be head over heels for Mikey, but whatever. They finished their food, scarfing it down after realizing it was tasty. “Teach me.”

“Teach you what?” Bear was lounging in the chair now, eyes closed and head tilted back. He looked completely unconcerned.

“How to do this. How to live like you do, take care of my own shit.” Bear cracked one eye open to look at him. 

“No.” His eye closed again.

“What do you mean no?” Pete sat forward on the couch. “Why not?”

“You’re not fit for this kind of life, kid. I can see it in your eyes, you’re the romantic type. The take life by the balls kind. For this life, you gotta be the steely type. It’s not easy.”

“I could do it.”

“No, you couldn’t. And I’ll tell you why. You’re thinking about him, aren’t you? You’re thinking about how I’m gonna teach you how to live like me, so you can spend the rest of your life with your little boyfriend.” He hadn’t even opened his eyes while he roasted Pete alive. Pete sighed and bit the bullet on that one, because he was totally and completely right about their little daydream about Mikey.

“Fair enough,” Pete said, waving a hand in the air casually and giving up. How hard can it be to catch a lizard and throw it over a fire? They could probably do a better job even, with like seasonings and shit from the market. Whatever.

“I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Show Pony.”

“Night.” Pete arranged themself on the couch while Bear blew out all of the candles and slipped into bed.

Pete couldn’t really sleep, first because it was just too early for them to be tired, then because they were thinking about Mikey again. It was kinda hard not to when they were desperately wishing to be in his arms. Eventually though, the long day caught up with them and they knocked out while thinking about Mikey’s lips.

-

Mikey was sulking around all day the same way he did every time Pete left, except this time it was even worse because now they were together but like apart and it sucked so bad. He missed that motherfucker like hell and it was making him super twitchy and he didn’t really even want to eat or sleep because of it. At some point, after a whole lot of lengthy sighs and meandering around the house, Ray took pity on him, and now they were arguing about music in the lounge like always to take his mind off things.

Outside, Frank was drawing in the dirt with Ruby, using his forefinger to plant stick fingers in the ground with guns and big hair. Ruby laughed at him for his lack of artistic talent then drew the ugliest turtle he had ever seen in his life. It was all he could do not to burst out laughing and ruin her sense of self, but he really wanted to foster her artistic inclinations, though he thought Gerard would probably be a lot better with that, him being an artist and all. Gerard was only half paying attention to them, however, as he was busy sitting on a stool a couple feet away cutting pieces of empty aluminum cans into throwing stars and knives. 

He stood up cheerily and walked over to them, then unfurled his palm to reveal a thin slip of can cut into the shape of a flower. He had even taken the time to use his acrylic paints to paint it red with yellow dots. He beamed and stuck it into Ruby’s hair, right above her right ear. She gasped and hugged him, making him chuckle. 

“What?” Frank said, biting back a grin. “Nothing for me?” Gerard considered, then held up a finger and scurried away. Frank made a face and shook his head while Ruby stepped on his drawing and sat back down. “Hey!”

Gerard returned a few minutes later with another piece of can in his hand, and dropped it into Frank’s lap with a crazy grin. Frank picked it up and flipped it over, admiring the fine work that was a dick with his name printed on the shaft.

“For you, my dear,” Gerard said, flourishing his hand in the air. Frank set his jaw and glared at him for a silent five seconds.

“You are so dead,” he said, and before Gerard could react, he leapt to his feet and made a grab at him. Gerard’s eyes widened and he spun around and bolted, only making it a few feet before Frank tackled him to the ground. They both flailed around and laughed ridiculously until suddenly they were face to face and everything seemed to stop. Frank leaned forward and kissed him softly and Gerard lifted a hand to the back of his neck. To the side Ruby watched, giggling to herself, and imaging what it would be like when one way she would finally grow up. 

“I love you,” Gerard whispered against his mouth. Frank smiled and pulled away, still staring into his eyes.

“I love you too, asshole.” He put a hand firmly on his chest and pushed him back. Then he stood up and held a hand out for Gerard, lifting him up off the ground. They wandered back over to Ruby, unsuccessfully trying to keep their hands to themselves. Frank ruffled Ruby’s hair and peeked over at her new drawing. It was just a bunch of stick figures, but when he looked closely he could tell it was supposed to be all of them. Ray with his big ‘fro, Frank the short one, Mikey was frowning and holding hands with Pete, and Gerard with his shoulder-length hair. Even Cola and D were there. Frank looked over at Gerard, catching his eye and reaching for his hand, and his whole body filled with warm fuzzies.

-

The first time Ruby noticed something was off was a couple days ago. It was a feeling that she truly had no capacity to describe, she was just too young to understand. It was like a constricting in her chest, or an opening in her stomach, less like something was leaving and more like something was growing. It was different from when she was getting sick, she knew that, but she couldn’t really pinpoint how. She hid it from the others, if only because she just didn’t know how to say what she wanted to. 

Since then, though, strange things had been happening. She was holding a battery for Mikey, rolling it in between her hands and balancing it between her forefingers. All of a sudden there was a small flash of sparks and Ruby screamed, dropping the battery to the ground. Mikey spun around in a flurry and ran to her, grabbing her head and examining her body for cuts or bruises, but there was nothing.

“What happened?” He asked, but she was crying and too freaked out to respond. Mikey held her in his arms and shushed her, combing his free hand through her curly hair. He was so confused though, because what the hell had happened? He picked the battery up off the ground and looked closely at it, something caught his eye and he held it up in front of his face. “What the…?”

The battery was split down the center, the paper on it burnt and unravelling. He chalked it up to the battery malfunctioning and shocking her, ignoring the logical part of his brain that told him there was no way a battery could do that on it’s own.

-

Frank had plenty of girlfriends before, mostly outside of Bat City, but one there too. They had never been serious, or even lasted very long. When he considered it, he came to the conclusion that he was only with them for convenience, to drown out the loneliness. He had never been in love, and it had never felt like this. This was so different, Gerard was so different, and he truly felt like he could spend the rest of his life with him. It was crazy, but it was true. The more he thought about it the more sure he was that what they had would last forever, he would follow Gerard to the ends of the Earth. This was the end all be all, and he couldn’t be any happier about it. He told Gerard about it later, and when he did Gerard got that far away look in his eyes and reached for Frank without even really being aware of it. The corner of Frank’s mouth twitched upwards and he waited patiently for him to speak.

“If people in the zones got married, I would ask you to marry me, Frankie. Today, even,” Gerard said, looking fiercely serious. Frank leaned in close, watching his face.

“I would say yes,” he said, then he added “Duh.” And snickered. Gerard wasted no time in mauling him with his lips, kissing him passionately then pressing small kisses to his forehead and cheeks and neck. Frank linked their fingers and rested them on his lap.

“Rings,” Gerard said, his words muffled against Frank’s skin. Frank’s eyebrows furrowed and he guided Gerard’s face away from him so that he could speak properly. Gerard blushed. “We could get rings.”

“Rings,” Frank repeated, the words airy and uncertain in his throat. A smile gradually formed across his lips and he threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around Gerard’s neck. “You’re a genius!”

Gerard nuzzled into Frank’s collar and wrapped his arms around his torso. “We can buy rings anywhere, we can go to the nest tomorrow or hike out to Duck harbor…”

“Gee, I think we should make them.” Gerard gasped and moved back so that Frank could see his face light up.

“You’re so right! We can go see Guinness and make rings for each other. Oh, Frankie.” He bent in to kiss him then buried his face in his shirt. Frank ruffled his hair fondly and trailed his fingers down his spine over top of his shirt.

-

The dark of night was burned away by the orange glow of white candles. The fire at the wick twisted their features, throwing a mask across their faces. Behind Frank a figure towered over him against the wall and followed his every move. Everything is different under the dancing flame. The melting wax told tales, bringing omens often overlooked. It dripped down the side of the candle, leaving a gnarled trail that looked rather gothic, and spilled out onto the table. Frank put his finger in it and curiously admired the way it hardened onto his fingertip. He rubbed the pads of his thumb and index finger together and it crumbled away. Thunder rumbled, low and deep, in the distance and Frank looked out at the sky anxiously, catching the flicker of lightening from the corner of his eye. 

“Will it come this way?” He asked. Gerard stared deeply into the dark plain, looking over Frank’s shoulder.

“I’m not sure.”

The light blue grey of the sky just before nightfall hypnotized Frank. Rain tapped softly at the windows, streaking down like little rivers of tears. 

-

Frank was sleepy, but he didn’t want to sleep yet. He yawned then rubbed at his watery eyes. The rain was still coming down lightly outside, thumping softly against the roof. A simple drum beat to accompany Frank’s languid thoughts. The room was cool with the outside air, and he hugged his blanket closer. Gerard’s warm body lay next to him, comforting and still, he was asleep. Frank felt like maybe it wasn’t time yet, or maybe like time wasn’t real. He hadn’t blown out the candle, it was still burning down and flickering. His hair was wet from his shower and the pillow behind his head was damp. The wind shook the walls of the house, rattled them and made loud scratchy noises that made his mind scatter. He watched the wall and the blurry shadows that walked across it, his imagination put people and monsters in them, some watching him, some talking to each other. He heard them tell stories and laugh, and shook in fear at the ones who silently watched him. 

The noises of the storm grew louder outside, pounding at the ceiling and booming all around him. Flashes of lightening lit up the room, changing the shadows into glimpses of white light that were angrier than the yellow warmth of the candle. It woke Gerard, and he murmured and turned towards him, slipping an arm around his waist and pulling him in close. Frank sighed into his embrace, the comfort and safety of it, and thought about how grateful he was to him. He grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers, touched his leg with his foot. With all of the world shaking and rumbling outside, they were unfettered, tucked against each other, eyes closed to the storm surrounding them. A little bubble of cozy peace. And against better judgement, Frank fell asleep with the candle still burning.

-  
A loud clap of thunder woke Ruby up sometime in the dead middle of the night. It was dark all around her, so much so that it was freaking her out. And with the sky opening up outside making the walls around her shiver, she was on edge. Another boom of thunder made her jump and pull her blanket up to her chin. 

When her eyes adjusted to the dark fully and the rain lightened up briefly, she scurried up and padded softly into Frank and Gerard’s room, carrying her blanket with her still, curled in her small fingers. The wind roared outside and made all sorts of terrifying noises against the house. Ruby was surprised to find a candle still lit in their room, but clearly they were both asleep. The candle was severely lopsided at this point, looking warped and like it had been going for a long time. Ruby approached Frank’s side of the bed, which was closest to the door, and gently tugged at his arm. Frank’s eyes flew open and he gasped a little, then his eyes focused like he had just realized where he was. His face relaxed and he propped himself up on his arm a little. He leveled his gaze at her.

“Everything okay, Bee?” She shook her head, her curls bouncing side to side. Frank smiled sadly at her. “Storm scaring you?” She nodded once, face backed by the candlelight. “Me too.” Frank nodded his head sympathetically, then sat up, noticing the candle.

“Fuck,” he said, making a face. “C’mon up.” He helped her into the bed then stood up and blew out the candle. Gerard groaned and raised his arm to rub at his face. Ruby took the chance to snuggle into his side, and he lowered his arm gently around her.

“Frankie?” Gerard asked.

“Hmm,” Frank said, getting back into bed.

“All good?” Frank leaned over and pecked him on the lips then laid back down, facing them on his side.

“Yeah, storm’s a lil scary. That’s all.”

“Don’t worry,” Gerard said sleepily. He tightened his arm around Ruby briefly. “Just mother nature.”

Ruby fell back asleep quickly in between Frank and Gerard, feeling safe with their warmth. In her mind, they were the adults, even if they were just kids like her. They were older, and they would protect her, she trusted them with that. So she dozed off cuddled up next to Gerard. Maybe it was the storm or maybe it wasn’t, but she dreamed of voices that night. Voices in the dark, calling out to her. She realized quickly, though, that it was really just one voice over and over. A familiar voice at that, but she couldn’t figure out how she knew it or what it was saying. It sounded like a woman’s voice, and for some reason it was making her sad.

-

Guinness would not stop fawning over them at the shop. It was so bad it made Gerard blush, and that was a rare occasion. 

“You guys are just so cute!” He said, barreling in his accent. He slapped an arm around Frank. “I remember when you two had just met, oh, you were so awkward then. Ha ha! But I knew, I knew. I just know those kinds of things. And when Poison came to me about the necklace idea, I said that had to be the cutest thing in the history of the zones- didn’t I Poison? Oh, this is just so wonderful!” He went on and on. Frank couldn’t help but laugh and just appreciate that there was someone more invested in their relationship than they were. 

Every time he met Gerard’s eyes they had this glimmer in them he had never seen before. It worried him at first, like maybe Gerard was having second thoughts, but he shook that off pretty quickly. It wasn’t that, because Gerard keep touching his arm softly and playing with his fingers. 

At the back of the workshop Guinness was still going on and on. “I’ll let you two do most of the work, you know for sentimental sake. Ha! But I’ll be around in case you need help. It shouldn’t be too hard, just… here, take this.” He grabbed something off a shelf and tossed it to Gerard. “That’s some metal wire, figure ya can wind it into a ring, that’ll be the easiest way. Look around and see if you can find anything roughly the size of your finger. There’s pliers and wire cutters on the table. Okay, okay, I’ll leave you to it!” He was practically out of breath from all the monologuing, but still he managed to bounce up and down with excitement for the two. He was so large that the floor was quavering under them. For a second no one said anything and Guinness just stared at them merrily.

“Thanks, Guinness,” Gerard said finally.

“No problemo, kiddos! Don’t have too much fun back here!” He laughed and it echoed off the walls. He walked away from them jauntily, and got to the door before he turned around once more. “Oh! And don’t forget to call me back when you’re going to exchange ‘em and all.”

“Will do,” Frank said. He leaned forward against the work table and gave a little half wave as Guinness finally left them alone. Frank let out a breath of relief. “That man is an enigma.”

“Oh, come on. It’s sweet,” Gerard said. He slowly walked up next to him and leaned his back against the table Frank was bent over.

“It is.” Frank stood up again and stepped over so that he was in front of Gerard. Gerard reached his hands out and made grabby hands until Frank brought his hips close enough for Gerard to wrap his hands around his waist. Frank crossed his arms over his chest, but let Gerard drag him closer anyways. “Almost a year ago we met for the first time and you took me here.”

“A year,” Gerard breathed. “It feels, like, somehow that’s both too long and too short. You know? Like I feel like I’ve known you my whole life, but also like it’s gone by so fast.” 

Frank nodded. “Yeah, it’s weird like that.” He smiled with all his teeth. “Never did I ever think I would get married out here, man. I for sure thought I’d die before I ever fell in love, and with a boy at that.” Gerard laughed at him and pulled him in closer, pressing a kiss to his lips once.

“I’m not so surprised by the boy thing, but yeah, this is… this is kinda crazy.”

“Good crazy or bad crazy?”

“The best crazy a guy could ask for.” Gerard rubbed his nose against Frank’s and Frank scrunched up his face. He lifted his hand to Gerard’s cheek and kissed him, deeply but not in a way that would get them making bad decisions. Though, that would be kind of fun. Frank grinned cheekily. “What?”

“Thinking about fucking you right now,” he said. Gerard bit his lip, clearly debating internally.

“Save it for after, Frankie. Consummate the marriage and all that.” Frank pouted, but wriggled out of Gerard’s grip all the same. 

“Fine, let’s do this quick then,” he said, but he was only joking and Gerard knew that. This was too important of a thing to rush, even he knew that. Frank grabbed the wire cutters and the thin metal wire and started to measure out a piece. Gerard bent over and kissed him on the cheek then ambled over to the other side of the table and waited patiently.

Frank looked down at his hands and considered. What kind of ring would Gerard want? He could just do something plain where he wound it around and then went back over up and down, or he could try for a pattern. He chewed on the inside of his cheek and cut a piece he thought would be long enough then handed the stuff to Gerard.

“What do you think would be the size of your finger in here?” Frank asked, examining the room.

“Uh,” Gerard said, concentrating on the wire. “I don’t know are there like, pipes or something? Look for anything spherical. Maybe a tool.”

“Who you calling a tool?” Frank said, but he had already lost interest in the conversation and was walking around the workshop inspecting tool handles. He found a wrench that looked like it would be the same size as his finger. “How much bigger is your finger than mine?”

Gerard looked down at his hand then over at Frank, then just kind of held his hand up so Frank could see it. It didn’t help at all. Frank picked up the tiniest drill bit he could find.

“Okay, this should do,” he said, then sauntered over to the table and chucked the drill bit at Gerard. “That’s about right, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, thanks Frank it’s perfect for your finger,” Gerard said, snickering and rolling his eyes playfully.

“Really cause I was thinking it’d probably be perfect for your dick.” Gerard gasped and threw it back at him, aiming it like a dart. “Ow, fuck!”

“What so you can make a ring for my dick? Or is that for me to stick in it?” Gerard’s own words made him cringe and Frank cracked up so loudly he thought Guinness might come back in to check on them.

“Both are insanely kinky, Gee, but I’ll respect you if that’s what you’re into.”

“Oh, fuck off.” 

Frank gave him the wrench he had found and grabbed his hand to examine his finger size. He went back to exploring and found a part of something he didn’t recognize that looked like it would fit Gerard’s finger. Gerard was already winding his wire around the wrench and looking pretty focused. It was adorable, and Frank wanted to go over there and kiss him again, but he pushed that to the side. 

After a while of staring at the wire and trying to figure out how he could make the ring look cool, he gave up and just set about curling it into the right shape around the pipe piece he had found. Once he had a general shape, and it seemed thick enough he pulled it off the metal part and held it up. Not too bad. 

“Gee, give me your finger,” he said. Gerard held out his had and Frank took it and tried the ring on for size. “How is it?”

“Perfect, Frankie. Here, try mine.” Frank slipped the ring on and it fit snuggly.

“Feels good, Gee.” They smiled goofily at each other for a minute. “Okay, now turn away so you can’t see what I’m doing.” Man, why did all of that sound weirdly innuendo-y? They both shuffled around to hide their work.

Frank took the end of the wire and wrapped it around the ring vertically, slanting it so that it kind of had a cool design. There was really nothing else to do, the ring was pretty plain, but he couldn’t think of anything else to do with it. He picked up the wire cutters and clipped the excess off so that it looked like an actual ring. He turned it over in his fingers, testing it out for durability, and it passed the test. He was actually kind of proud of it.

“Okay, I’m done,” he said.

“Just a couple more seconds, sorry,” Gerard said over his shoulder. Fuck, he really hoped Gerard wasn’t going all artsy on this, then he would feel really bad. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“You should go get Guinness,” Frank said, pointing his finger at him then the door. Gerard sighed and rolled his eyes, but they were both getting kind of jittery. This was really happening, like right now. Gerard nodded once firmly and marched over to the door. He pried it open and shouted at Guinness then came back and stood in the aisle in front of the tables, ring secured firmly in his palm and completely hidden from view.

Frank took a deep breath and followed suit, standing in front of him the way they would have at an altar, but really they were just in a hot, smelly workshop in the middle of the desert. For a second Frank thought about his mom, and what it would have been like to actually get married and not just whatever this was. It was like a sucker punch to the gut, and he had to stop thinking about it before he started tearing up. His mom couldn’t be there, cause she was dead, and they would never have a real wedding, cause this was their life.

Guinness bounded into the room all giddy-like, humming and smiling like he was also somehow in on this. Frank couldn’t help but chuckle at him, kind of easing the nerves in his body. It’s not like this was anything binding, he reminded himself, just symbolic. And he was in love with Gerard, so really it didn’t even matter.

“Alright, boys! Ready?” They both said yes. “Wonderful! I hope your ring-making debut was well spent.” Guinness was standing in from of them now, like a priest would have. “Do you have your rings?”

“I do,” Gerard said, looking pointedly at Frank.

“I do, too,” he said, looking at the floor and blushing.

“Well, then what are you waiting for? Exchange your rings! Did you prepare any vows?”

“It’s not that serious, Guinness,” Gerard said, then he ducked his head kind of sheepishly. “But, yes, I kind of did.”

Frank’s face dropped into a serious frown. “Gerard! You didn’t tell me that, you fucker!” Gerard just gave him an ‘I’m sorry’ look and shrugged.

“Okay, Okay,” Guinness said, huffing laughs in between words. “Poison, er, ah, Gerard? You can go first.” He was kind of scratching his head and making a face so Gerard waved a hand at him to tell him it was fine. Gerard took one step closer to Frank, looked into his eyes, and suddenly everything was so real and focused. Frank’s whole body was buzzing, and he felt like he was in that space at the edge of something really big.

“Frank, within the first couple days of knowing you I knew you were different from anyone else I had ever met. It was like looking back at myself in the mirror, but the reflection was distorted into some… short, greasy kid who looked at me like I gave him the world.” Gerard laughed and Frank rolled his eyes, then he continued. “In the past year I’ve watched you grow out of your withdrawn and defensive self into a kind and heartfelt person and in that time I have fallen helplessly in love with you. I know we’re both still really young, but that’s never stopped anybody before. I love you.”

Gerard held up his hand and unfurled his fingers to reveal his ring. It was beautiful, as Frank had expected. Gerard was really good at these things. The ring was wound the same way Frank had done his, but somehow Gerard had snuck in gold wire around the silver and wound a pattern of circles into the side. Frank held out his left hand and Gerard slipped the ring onto his ring finger, never breaking eye contact the whole time. His eyes were sparkling and for a second Frank thought Gerard might be crying. He grabbed his hand with the one now wearing the ring and squeezed tight, and Gerard squeezed back.

“Gerard,” he said. “I wasn’t really planning on saying anything and I didn’t prepare anything lovely like you did, but that’s kind of how we work isn’t it? We’re like lock and key, filling in each other’s holes.” Frank winced at that one, while the other two spluttered out laughs. “Fuck, I didn’t… oh well. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you, yada yada. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, too.” 

Frank quickly sped through his shitty vow, if it could even be called that. Fuck Gerard for not warning him about this shit. He pushed the thought out of his mind, took a deep breath, and opened his right hand. Gerard looked and it, smiled happily, then looked back up at him. Frank melted in his gaze. Then Gerard brought up his left hand and Frank put the ring on his ring finger and that was it. 

He felt like fire works should have gone off or something, but it was just weirdly silent. They held each other’s hands and Frank’s chest tightened with emotion begging to pour out. He couldn’t think of a time he had ever been this happy in his life, nowhere even close. He thought he might explode. He loved Gerard so much in that moment he couldn’t see straight, and all he could do was grin like a maniac and stare at the beautiful man in front of him who had changed his life and was his now. He hadn’t thought this would mean so much to him, but it really did.

Then something broke and Frank threw his arms around Gerard’s neck and hugged him tight, and Gerard hugged him around the waist and leaned back so that Frank’s legs were in the air. He giggled loudly, happy tears falling at this point, but he just let it happen. 

“Beautiful,” Guinness said, sounding kind of weepy. Frank had almost forgotten he was there up until then. Gerard dropped him on the ground, but immediately cupped his face and kissed him passionately. 

“I love you so much,” Gerard said breathlessly, pulling back for a second. Their lips touched again, softer and slower.

“I love you, too.” They pulled apart. Frank was feeling like he was going to float away and his face was flushed. He couldn’t stop looking at the ring on his finger and admiring the way it pressed into his skin. Gerard took his hand and faced Guinness, who actually was teary eyed. Gerard did a double take, then announced loudly that they should be on their way.

-

They laid on their backs in the dirt under the melting sky and watched as the last dregs of sunlight left the horizon. The sky was like a painting of thick acrylics mixed together, with wispy clouds plastered on top. They were holding hands, and Frank rubbed his thumb over Gerard’s rough skin lazily. The bumpy ground was poking into Frank’s back, but not in an overly painful way, and he had his legs bent at the knee. Everyone else was inside and they could hear loud, happy voices drifting out. 

“You ever heard The Downward Spiral?” Frank asked, looking up at the stars beginning to peek out.

“Yeah, by Nine Inch Nails? I love that album.”

“I knew you would like it,” Frank said, smiling through his words.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That you’re a man with taste,” said Frank, cracking up. “No, but really, I think it’s just very you. You’ll like anything that’s a concept album.”

“I’m gonna choose to take that as a compliment. I just think it’s really interesting, like, how it basically goes through the dude’s descent mentally. With like violence and sex and religion. And then Hurt at the end, it’s so chilling, but the perfect ending. It’s just a great album, ya know? Storytelling and all that jazz.”

“Mhm. Disturbing in the best way.” Frank loved hearing Gerard talk. “Trent Reznor is a total genius. I’ve been looking for a copy of it for ages, though. I can’t find it anywhere. I got my hands on it once as a cassette, but it was fried to shit.”

“Yeah cassettes don’t last in the heat, they’re all fried to shit. But I have a copy of it on CD, you can listen to it on my walkman if you want.” 

“For real? Dope, dude!” Frank turned his head to the side to look at Gerard. Gerard smiled with the corner of his mouth. Something about the conversation reminded him of when they first met, and how often they used to just lay around and talk. Back then they still had a lot of learning to do about each other.

“Only if I can nab your Mellon Collie cd.”

“Fine, but that’s the best cd I have, so don’t lose it or anything. Fuckin’ Smashing Pumpkins.”

“Mikey loves them.”

“I know he does, we talk about it often,” Frank said. He looked down at his left hand, loosely resting on his stomach, and admired the way his ring glinted in the waning sunlight. In that moment everything was absolutely perfect. He felt like he could eat the world raw. He could do anything he wanted to, all while holding hands with the love of his life. Together they were unstoppable.

-

Ray carried Ruby to her bed in the room at the end of the hallway. They had gotten her a cot to sleep on, but often enough she would wiggle out of it and end up either with Ray in the lounge or Frank and Gerard in their room. On the rare occasion she would jump on Mikey and Pete’s bed, but they were always harder to wake. She played with Ray’s curly hair idly, making Ray smile.

“You know, you really could be my child,” he said. Then he paused, his smile slipping off and a confused frown replacing it. As he stepped under each small ceiling light in the hallway, they flickered a couple of times, then went back to normal. There were only four lights, the hallway wasn’t that long, but they were all lined up. He stopped, looking around wildly.

The light above him kept flickering spastically until he backed away from it, then it leveled out and the one behind him starting acting up. He shook his head and blinked a couple times to make sure he wasn’t imaging it. Ruby was also looking up at the ceiling at this point, tilting her head like she didn’t understand.

Ray walked back to the living room and placed Ruby on the floor, then stared open mouthed at the lights. They were all back to normal now. He slowly approached the hallway again, eyes glued upwards, but nothing happened. He swore under his breath and marched all the way to the end of the hallway, but still there was nothing. He turned around so that his back was towards the wall and he was facing Ruby.

“Ruby, come here,” he said slowly. She kind of stumbled, then stuck her thumb in her mouth and walked towards him, dragging her stuffed animal on the floor beside her. As she advanced towards Ray each light above her blinked and dimmed, then sprung back to life once she had moved past.

Ray stared at her in disbelief, not having any words or coherent thoughts, just his mind kind of going haywire. When she reached him, she looked up with those wide, innocent eyes and he shook off the surprise. He picked her up again and deposited her in her bed kind of dazedly, then kissed her on the forehead and said goodnight. He didn’t know what to make of it, so he grasped at straws to rationalize it. Everything he tried- faulty wire, dead batteries, loss of connection, something in the rigging of the house- all fell short.


	12. The Good Times

Mikey strolled through the Nest casually, trying to distract himself from thinking about Pete all day. He wanted to be alone, but not stewing in his room. He knew it would help him to get out and walk around. The place was crowded today, more so than other days, probably from people fleeing the dracs Pete was out warning about. He put his hands in his pockets and skirted between groups of people. The sky was the same bright blue it was always, but looking at it made him feel connected to Pete somehow. They were under the same sky after all, no matter where they were.

Before he could fight it back, a faint smile touched his lips. Even though it was really hard to be away from them right now, he was really happy. Everything was going in his favor, the world was finally giving him a break. Everyone in the family felt it, too, they were all happy and stress free. It was the best kind of life he could ask for, and he wished he could have made it all happen sooner.

Mikey peeked at the vendors as he walked by, especially the traveling ones that changed everyday, because sometimes they had unique things. He thought maybe he could barter for the batteries in his pocket. He was good at hijacking the ElectroCat machines, it was one of his favorite hobbies, and they were as valuable as gold around here. Just about everything ran on battery power.

There was someone staring at him. A guy about his age, posted up in an alley, leaned up against a wall. His arms were crossed over his chest, one leg bent on the wall, and an evil sneer plastered on his face. Mikey didn’t like the way he was watching him. Then someone slammed into his shoulder and sent him staggering to the side. It was another dude, who made his way past him to the guy in the alley. He watched the two exchange words, then without breaking eye contact with Mikey, the first guy pushed himself off the wall and sauntered towards him. Mikey braced himself, not sure what was about to go down.

“So you’re the Kobra Kid, huh?” He called out, continuing to come closer. How the fuck did he know that?

“That’s me,” Mikey said wearily. He eyed the two guys, wondering if he could take both or not. They both had blasters hanging off their hips, but Mikey would bet he was faster in a gun fight. A fist fight might be something else entirely. The one who was talking to him had a buzzcut and a scar over his cheek.

“Heard ya got a boyfriend, f*ggot.” The boy jeered at him, bearing all of his teeth. Mikey’s vision went red, and it wall all he could take to not swing on him in that moment. He ground his teeth and took a threatening step forward.

“You wanna repeat that?” He asked, barely getting the words out through his clenched jaw. Buzzcut held up his hands and feigned innocence.

“Hey, I’m just sharing what I heard, that’s all.”

“And where the fuck did you hear that from?” They laughed at him and his fingers twitched, hand curling into a tight fist.

“Oh, you didn’t know? Your little boyfriend’s been telling everyone about it. I’d probably break up with him if I were you, wouldn’t want people getting the wrong impression.”

“ _They_ aren’t a boy,” Mikey spat. He left out the part where he said how much he cared about them.

“Whatever, man. Just trying to help you out. I guess you really are a f*g.”

Mikey’s rationality went out the door. He grabbed Buzzcut’s collar and slammed him up against the alley wall. He dug his forearm into his throat and leaned close into his face, looking fierce. His friend had already backed off, like the scared little shit he was.

“I’m warning you now, fucker. Say one more bad thing about me or anyone that I know, I will rip your fucking throat out and set your bloody corpse on fire. I will fucking kill you. Get that through your thick skull.” He jabbed a finger at Buzzcut’s temple. “If you were gonna be an intolerant asshole, you should have stayed in Bat City with the rest of your kind.”

Mikey kneed him in the balls hard and let him fall to the ground. He left him there, curled into a ball and writhing in pain, feeling incredibly pissed off and smug. He grinned, and shook his arm out as he walked away. That was enough of the outdoors for today.

-

Mikey was on the couch talking with Ray and Frank when suddenly he knew. In the middle of their conversation he rushed to his feet and out the door, leaving two very confused faces behind him. He stood in the doorway and looked out at the expanse of desert, and there was Pete, walking towards him. Pete called out excitedly and ran to meet Mikey half way. Mikey threw his arms around their neck and nuzzled into their shoulder.

“I missed you,” he said, voice muffled. Pete pulled him closer and buried their face into his hair. They never thought they would miss that smell so much.

“I missed you too. So much.” They giggled and pulled back, looking into Mikey’s face. In a second their lips were on top of his, kissing greedily.

From the doorway, Gerard and Frank watched them reunite, then turned away from the makeup sesh going on outdoors, feeling awkward, and retreated inside. Gerard played with the sleeves of Frank’s shirt, lingering close to him, and Frank watched him adoringly.

“It’s only been a few days and they’re acting like it’s been a year or something,” Frank said, clicking his tongue.

“I know, it’s so gross,” Gerard said, poking fun at them too. “Think we could make it even a day?”

Frank shook his head and scoffed. “No way.”

“Can’t bear to be away from me, Frankie?”

“A minute without from you, my love, is a minute without my better half,” Frank said. He leaned in so their noses were touching and scrunched up his face. Gerard beamed at him, and pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss.

“God, not you guys too. Can’t I please escape this coupley hell hole?” Ray said, throwing himself down on the couch. Ruby trailed after him, like a lost puppy and Ray pulled her up to sit on his legs.

“Sorry Ray,” Gerard said, and he let go of Frank. Frank chuckled and sat down on the arm of the couch.

“What up, Ruby?” He asked and leaned forward to give her a fist bump. She grinned and bumped his fist with her smaller one.

“Bored,” she said. She tapped her fingers on Ray’s knee.

“Oh, what? I’m not exciting enough for you?”

“No. Not that, Ray,” she said, twisting her face. “I love you.” Everyone made a face and turned to her. She had never said that before.

“Alright, kiddo. Who’d you pick that one up from?” Ray asked. There was a sly and accomplished look on her face when she pointed in the direction of Frank. Frank’s jaw dropped dramatically.

“Me?” He asked, exaggerating the word. Ruby nodded excitedly.

“You say ‘I love you, Gee’ a lot,” she said. Frank slapped a hand over his mouth and blushed. Gerard let out a bark of laughter.

“You do say that a lot,” Gerard said. Frank bit his lip and glared at him.

“You say it back!” Everyone was laughing now, and Mikey and Pete appeared in the doorway.

“What are you guys laughing about?” Pete asked, their arm slipped around Mikey’s waist.

“Frank loves Gerard!” Ray said. Frank reached over and hit him on the arm. Pete looked at Mikey in confusion.

“Are we just now finding this out?” Mikey asked. Frank put his face in his hands, giving up completely. “Speaking of, did you tell people we were dating?” Mikey asked, turning to look at Pete. Pete blanched and looked away.

“What are you talking about, Mikes?” They scratched the back of their head, not doing a great job at hiding their guilt. “You’re obviously mistaken.”

“No, but apparently I’m taken.” His words grew increasingly louder, but it was clear he wasn’t actually mad. If he were really mad, he would not have brought it up in front of everyone else.

“Well, I may have…”

“Pete!”

“What?” Pete held up his hands. “I can’t tell people that? Are we not?”

Mikey narrowed his eyes at them, putting on their thinking face. “Okay. I guess, but I didn’t expect the world to know before I did!”

“I’m sorry! I can’t help it, I need the world to know that I have that hottest boyfriend in the world, okay?” Pete said, grinning madly. Mikey swept in and kissed them on the cheek.

“Hey, I resent that statement. Have you seen my boyfriend?” Frank asked. Gerard’s face lit up from across the room and he mouthed ‘love you’ to him. Frank blew him a kiss and winked. Ray groaned.

“I need new friends.”

“Don’t be jealous, Ray. We can find you a boyfriend, too, there’s still time,” Pete said, walking towards their room slowly.

“I don’t need a boyfriend! Thanks!” Ray said, getting fed up. Mikey followed Pete into their room and shut the door with a sly smile. “Okay, I’m leaving.”

Frank and Gerard cracked up laughing. “Yeah, we should get out of here,” Frank said, looking at the closed door pointedly. Gerard raised his eyebrows at him hopefully, but Frank shook his head. He sent him the ‘later’ message with his mind, and Gerard seemed to get it.

“What should we do, Bee?” Gerard asked, getting up and walking toward the door. Ray was lingering outside of it, kind of wishing he had a cigarette.

“I want ice cream,” she said. Frank pulled a face.

“What the fuck? How do you even know what that is?” He asked.

“She went to school, dumb ass,” Ray said, leaning in past the doorframe.

“Shut the fuck up, I never learned about ice cream in school.”

“No, you idiot! Didn’t they give out ice cream sometimes at lunch?”

“What kind of school did you go to? I never got ice cream! Even if I did, it would have been stolen from me.”

“What do you mean stolen? Were you bullied?” Gerard asked, stepping closer to him.

“Fuck yeah, I was.” He grimaced and shook Gerard’s hand off his shoulder. “’s okay, though. Ice cream. How the fuck do we get that?”

“We can make it,” Gerard said. He tried to give Frank space.

“We can?” Ray asked. Ruby was watching them speak, looking back and forth.

“Sure, with like science. We just need milk, sugar, ice, and salt. I think. And some plastic bags.”

“Wait that might be fun,” Frank said. He gave Gerard a small smile that told him he was over it now and Gerard mirrored him and ruffled his hair.

“Fun! I wanna make it,” Ruby said. She was bouncing up and down a little.

“Alright,” Frank said, patting her head fondly. “Let’s do it.”

-

“You’re really not mad at me?” Pete asked once they were alone.

“Why would I be mad? I was more mad at the kid who called me a f*ggot over it,” Mikey said, thinking back and laughing lightly. Pete looked at him in shock.

“Someone called you that?” They sounded concerned, so Mikey pulled them down onto the bed next to him and hugged them close.

“Its fine, Pete. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I am gonna worry about it. I’ve brought you into my world, fuck, Mikey. I don’t want you to hear that shit, too.” Mikey tightened his arms around them and kissed their neck.

“Nobody’s gonna call me shit anymore, Petey. I scared the fuck out of that kid. And I’ll do it again. No one’s gonna bother us.” Pete grew still in his arms, then slid off to the side and faced him.

“You beat him up?”

“Nah, well. Just a little,” Mikey said, shrugging. A red hot grin slowly spread across Pete’s face.

“That’s so fucking hot, Mikes. Tell me more about how you stood up for me.” Mikey ran a tongue across his bottom lip, grinned a nasty smile, then was on top of Pete in a flash. He spread Pete’s legs with his knees and grazed their jaw with his teeth.

“Anyone,” Mikey said, breath hot below Pete’s ear. “Who so much as looks at you wrong. I will fucking kill.”

A shiver ran down Pete’s spine, and their breath caught in their throat. Their eyes fluttered closed and Mikey kissed them aggressively. They kissed back even more so.

“Oh my god,” they said breathlessly, as Mikey’s hand migrated downwards. “Fuck, please.” Their hips bucked upwards, grinding against Mikey’s thigh. Mikey’s fingers trailed along their throat, fingers curling around the sides.

“Don’t. Fucking. Move,” he said, lips hovering just above Pete’s. His teeth bit gently at their bottom lip, leaving a sharp taste in Pete’s mouth. His voice was strained and there was a wild look in his eyes. It was driving Pete crazy. So they ignored him and slipped off his jeans and underwear, then dipped downwards, mouth parted and warm.

Mikey sucked in a breath and cursed, digging his fingers into Pete’s tangled, dark hair. His forehead dropped down onto the comforter helplessly, arms trembling from holding himself up, and he moaned loudly. He bit into his hand desperately, leaving white indents in his skin.

Finally he dragged Pete back up to him. He kissed him fiercely, sucking at the taste of himself on their lips. Pete made a soft noise against his mouth, and that was it. Mikey pushed them down onto the bed and moved to their neck, biting hard and leaving a trail of hickeys forming in his wake. Pete dug their nails into his back, waiting for the moment when Mikey’s fingers finally went where they wanted him to. They sighed deeply into it and arched their back off of the bed, moaning Mikey’s name.

When they were both done, Mikey flopped beside Pete. They were both tired and ditzy off of the dopamine rush. Mikey felt sleepy and sluggish, so he wrapped an arm around Pete, pulled them into him, and fell asleep with Pete’s head on his chest.

-

Later on, Mikey sat on the edge of the couch and beckoned Ruby closer. She sat on the ground, back to the couch, between his knees so that he could do her hair. He combed his fingers through her hair as best as he could and she let out a soft noise of contentment and leaned her head back into his hands.

“Okay,” he muttered under his breath, trying to psych himself up. “I’ve never braided hair before in my life, alright? This might be really bad.”

He dug his fingers into her hair, and after a few terrible tries, he sighed and threw his hands up. This wasn’t getting him anywhere.

“Did _anyone_ have a sister?” Mikey asked, sounding exasperated.

“Show did,” Gerard said, not paying much attention. He turned his attention back to his sketch book.

“What did I do?” Pete asked, hearing their name through the open door to their bedroom.

“You had a sister? How come I didn’t know this? Do you know how to braid hair?” Mikey asked. He heard Pete laugh from the other room, then they appeared in the doorway, leaning against it with crossed arms.

“Yeah, I used to braid Hill’s hair all the time. Mom always got mad at me for it,” they chuckled and sat down on the couch next to Mikey. “I can do it, though I’ve never tried on hair like hers.”

“Will you teach me how? You’re not always around, and I wanna know how too.”

“Sure, watch me and follow along. Practice on Frank. Sit forward, Bee.” They tapped on her back and she straightened up, then Mikey scooted over and Pete took his place. Her hair was made of tightly wound curls, but Pete was careful and gentle.

“Frank!” Mikey shouted.

“What?” His voice floated out from further in the house

“Can you get a hairbrush and come here?” Frank mumbled something but appeared a minute later with a hairbrush all the same.

“What’s up?” Frank asked, placing the brush in Pete’s outstretched hand.

“I’m practicing my braiding, sit down,” Mikey said, pointing to the floor in front of him. Frank shrugged and sat down next to Ruby, giving her a playful side smile and a nudge with his elbow. She giggled and elbowed him back.

Pete brushed over the left side of her head and began separating her hair into three strands. With careful and nimble work they braided one side of her hair, then the other. They ended up only slightly lumpy and misshapen, but Pete counted it as a win. Mikey watched intently and did his best to copy the movements onto Frank’s hair.

“I, uh… fucked up,” Mikey said, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle a laugh. Frank whipped around with a terrified look on his face.

“You just need practice, that’s all. You’ll get the hang of it, Mikes,” Pete said. They leaned over and pecked him on the lips.

“What’s wrong with my hair?” Frank asked, looking between the two of them innocently. He turned to Ruby and she burst out laughing. “Is it that bad?”

Gerard looked up from his desk, eyeing Frank. He grinned and stood up, walking closer to him. He reached down and held Frank’s chin lightly, forcing him to tilt his head back, then pretended to assess the hair, squinting his eyes in thought.

“Hm, just as I thought.” He turned to Mikey. “It’s terrible.” Pete and Ruby burst out laughing and Gerard bit back on a smile. He helped Frank up and snuck a kiss onto his cheek.

“I need to see this,” Frank said, half-jogging to the bathroom. He looked at his hair in the mirror and barked out a laugh. “Mikey this sucks!” He laughed harder, clutching at his stomach, and Gerard appeared in the doorway next to him.

“Yet somehow, you still look stunning,” Gerard said. “Here, I’ll take it out.” Gerard’s fingers tangled in his hair and carefully pulled apart the mangled braids.

“Thanks Gee,” Frank said. He stood up on his tip-toes and placed a kiss right on his lips. Gerard smiled into the kiss, and when Frank pulled away, he wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back in. This time he kissed with more intent, keeping their lips pressed tightly and mouth parted just barely. The fingers on his other hand pulled at Frank’s hair again, causing him to gasp softly into Gerard’s mouth. Gerard always felt a note of satisfaction when he garnered those responses from him.

Gerard pulled back briefly, placed one last quick kiss to his lips, then stepped away and back into the other room. Frank shook his head and walked after him. Ruby was prancing around the room, showing off her hair with pride. Pete scooped her up and swung her around in their grip, making her scream laugh. Mikey snuck in close and tickled her sides and she screeched and flung her limbs around. She looked happy and it warmed Gerard’s heart to the core.

“Don’t torture the girl,” Frank said, waltzing into the room behind Gerard.

“We’re not,” Mikey said lightly. “Right, Bee?” Ruby giggled and shook her head, craning her neck to place a kiss onto Pete’s nose. Pete grinned from head to toe.

-

“Wait, I’m not doing this right,” Mikey said. He was fiddling around with a bag, already having dumped salt into the wrong one. The whole lot of them were sat outside under the heat, readying themselves to make ice cream the old fashioned way: with science. “Shit, Gerard, what the fuck did I do?”

Gerard groaned and moved away from Ruby to help his dumb-fuck brother. “The salt goes in the bag with the ice, genius.”

“Oh.” He shook the salt out of the bag onto the ground. “Whoops.” Pete bumped his shoulder and smirked at him, then moved to grab a bag as well. Frank was sitting on the ground with his bag in between his legs, pouring milk in carefully. It wasn’t real milk, there was none of that left, they did have powdered milk. His face was serious with concentration, tongue sticking out to the side, and Gerard nudged him with his foot. Frank grinned up at him.

Ray was already throwing his bag of milk and sugar up into the air and catching it, waiting for Gerard to pass him the ice. They had been lucky to find an ice machine that worked, though the person who owned it had been just as surprised to see the thing jump to life. Apparently, it hadn’t had power for quite a while.

“Yep, just like that,” Gerard said softly, crouching down in front of Ruby. She placed the smaller bag into the bag of ice and salt and closed the top. “Now you just have to shake it until it solidifies.”

“Gee, can I get some ice?” Frank asked. Gerard murmured under his breath and brought the ice bucket closer to Frank and Ray so that they could get started too.

When he had his all set up, Frank got a wild look in his eyes and grinned evilly. He threw the bag up and as it plummeted back down he jumped and kicked at it, sending it flying right into Mikey who was sat a few feet away.

“Frank! What the fuck?” He shouted at him. Frank burst into a fit of giggles and tried to retrieve his baggie, but Mikey stuck his leg out and tripped him.

“Ah!” Frank plummeted onto the hard ground, his chest thankfully taking the brunt of the fall and not his head or arms. “Asshole!”

“You started it!”

“Stop bickering,” Ray called over, gently kneading his mixture with his hands. Gerard stepped over and helped Frank up then retrieved his bag and kicked Mikey in the shin on his way back.

“Ha, take that,” Frank said, sticking his tongue out at Mikey.

“Pete,” Mikey whined. “Help me.”

“Why me?” Pete asked, looking taken aback.

“Gerard helped Frank, you’re supposed to help me.” Mikey pouted and poked their arm.

“What am I supposed to do now, Mikes? He’s all the way over there,” They asked, shaking their head. Mikey glared at them.

Frank interrupted them with more of his shenanigans. He had his baggie on the ground and was punching it like he was trying to knock it’s tooth out.

“Jesus, Frankie! Chill out!” Ray said, looking at him like he was insane. Gerard smiled fondly at him and whacked him in the head with his own bag.

“Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Frank said.

“Stop beating the fuck out of your bag, Rambo,” Gerard said, grinning even wider. Frank bit down on his bottom lip and reached out to grab his leg as he walked by. Gerard saw it coming and did a weird little dance to escape it, which led to Frank getting up and chasing him down.

“Frankie!” Gerard said, his voice going shrill as he darted around the others. “Stop, fuck! Go back to beating on your ice cream.”

Frank huffed out a laugh and caught his arm, spinning him into him and kissing him sloppily on the jaw. Gerard scrunched up his nose and wiped at the wet spot, then ran a hand through Frank’s hair messily and poked him in the side. It tickled Frank and he yelped and leaped back. Suddenly the roles were reversed and Frank was running away from Gerard’s outstretched hands.

“Hey yours looks pretty good, lil’ R. How’d you do that so fast?” Mikey asked, looking at her almost ice cream. She blinked up at him, then grinned wholeheartedly.

“I put it under my feet and stepped on it,” she said, giggling. She demonstrated, letting her bag flop back to the ground and then dancing on top of it with her small feet.

“Hmm, I don’t know if that tactic would work for you,” Pete said, elbowing Mikey. Ruby picked up her baggie and opened it up, then reached in and fished out the bag of ice cream. It was a pretty good consistency, so she opened it up and stuck a finger in. It was cool and refreshing on her tongue, tasting faintly sweet and leaving an aftertaste of bitterness from the milk replacement.

“How is it?” Gerard asked, walking over with his arm slung over Frank’s shoulders. Ruby glanced up at him, then held out her bag for him to taste. It was a simple gesture, but it made Gerard’s face glow. He dipped a finger in and tried it for himself. “That’s not half bad, what do you think?”

“It’s perfect,” she said, and they got the impression she wasn’t really talking about the ice cream as she spun in a circle and let the sunlight rest on her open arms. Frank pressed in closer to Gerard’s side, giving him a knowing smile.

-

Gerard and Ray prepared dinner that night, a mixture of pasta and spices with a side of some steamed vegetables. They used the outdoor heat of midday to steam the carrots and canned peas, and they had a faint graininess to them no one commented on. They all crowded together around the dinner table, rowdy conversation breaking out accompanied by loud chewing from open mouths. Manners were never really on their mind, but Ruby thought about it every time. It was such a different environment from her previous life that she noticed all of the small details and appreciated them.

Mikey noticed the ring on Gerard’s finger first, because he was right next to him. He was about to ask if it was new, and where he had gotten it from, when Frank reach across the table. Perched perfectly on his ring finger was a matching ring. Mikey paused, staring between the two of them and their rings, eyeing them suspiciously. Gerard noticed him staring and raised his eyebrows, then he followed his gaze and swallowed nervously.

“Did you guys… Did you guys get married?” Mikey asked, catching the attention of everyone at the table. Frank froze, his hand hovering above the peas, arm still stretched out. He quickly snatched his hand back and put them both in his lap.

“Who are you asking?” Gerard said slowly. Frank did his best to look innocent.

“You literally responded, who do you think I’m talking to?” Mikey asked, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t know, Mikey. Could be, um, anyone, really.” He laughed nervously.

“You and Frank are both wearing rings.”

“People wear rings on their hands all the time, that doesn’t mean anything,” Gerard said. He was failing miserably at being nonchalant.

“Not on their left ring fingers, Gerard! That’s the marriage finger!”

“I mean, that’s not like a universal thing, is it? Maybe we didn’t know that, Frank did you know that?” Gerard asked.

“What? Oh, no! What’s a ring finger? I don’t… um. Know what that is,” Frank said. He mentally kicked himself for sounding like an idiot. He exchanged an anxious look with Gerard, then Cola chimed in.

“Nobody get’s married here, Mikey. That’s ridiculous. There’s no point, and no one to officiate it or recognize it,” he said. Cola was being reasonable, but it made Frank scrunch up his face. There was a point in it, he thought. It doesn’t have to be recognized by the rest of the world, just them.

“So why do they both have rings on their left ring fingers?”

“Will you shut up about the ring finger thing!” Gerard snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. “We are not…” He looked at Frank, who just sighed and shrugged.

“We’re not _married_ ,” Frank said. He took a deep breath and lifted his left hand, then slid the ring off his finger and placed it on the table. “Cola’s right. It’s just symbolic.”

“But, like, if you could get married, you would?” Pete asked, butting into the conversation.

“Yeah,” Frank said, and Gerard nodded. They snuck a glance at each other and fought back smiles.

“What the fuck?” Mikey said, running a hand through his hair.

“That’s wonderful, you guys,” Cola said, smiling lightly at them. “Congratulations.”

“Congratulations,” D said, slapping a hand on the table and bellowing a laugh.

“Man, we could’ve had a wedding! That would have been so fun,” Pete said. Mikey sent him a look and they rolled their eyes. “So, did you guys say vows and stuff?”

“I did,” Gerard said, grinning. “Frank, well, I don’t even know if what he said actually was a vow.”

“You didn’t tell me to prepare one! You know how I am on the spot,” Frank said, trying to defend his honor.

“Okay, what did he say?” Ray asked, leaning in closer. Then, their secret was out, just like that, and Frank felt a hell of a lot better. They hadn’t necessarily been trying to hide it, but they didn’t think the others would understand. The exciting news had everyone buzzing, and the table only grew steadily louder and louder. Ruby was elated, not even really knowing why, but feeding off of the energy of everyone around her.

“Hey, I hear there’s a rock show tomorrow night,” Cola said to the group. “You guys gonna go?”

“We haven’t been to one in so long,” Frank said. “I’m totally in live show withdrawal.”

“That’s a great idea,” Ray said. “What do you think, Ruby?” He asked. She grinned as wide as she could and stood up in her seat, cheering and making everyone laugh. She was gloriously happy, because everything seemed to be just right. She raised her arms and was about to share her overwhelming happiness, but was beat to it.

A cracking noise like the sound of a million light bulbs shattering at once shook the room, and the ceiling above sprayed glass down in a bomb of sparks. Ruby shrieked and wrapped her arms around her head. The noise and the lights brought ugly memories back to her, and she cried out and skittered under the table. In the kitchen, the door to the oven fell open and the stove burst to life in a fountain of flames that Mikey rushed to put out. When it was all finally over, they all just stared wide-eyed and disheveled at each other.

“What just happened?” Ray asked. Frank shared a nervous look with Pete across the table.

“Did she just cause the house to explode, or am I missing something?” They asked shakily.

“You think she did that?” Gerard asked incredulously, running a hand through his hair and tugging at the long strands.

“Well, it didn’t just happen,” they said in response.

“Children don’t just make things explode,” Ray said. “That’s not… possible, is it?”

“Who are we to say what’s possible,” Dr. D said. “In this lifetime, anything can happen.”

“You think it was her?” Gerard asked again, feeling even more exasperated the second time.

“Yes, I do,” Pete said earnestly. “Don’t you? That was too well-timed to be a coincidence.”

“She’s a child! That’s not fair to her!” Gerard said, his voice raising.

“Gerard is right-“ Cola started, but was cut off.

“You can’t honestly expect us to believe that was just spontaneous?” Frank asked, his voice rising angrily now too.

“No, but-“ Gerard started.

“What the fuck was that, then!” Frank shouted. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know! Can we stop yelling, please? You’re scaring her!” Gerard said back, looking fiercely serious. Frank backed down, feeling guilty when he caught sight of the terror on Ruby’s face. She was probably just as scared at them.

“This isn’t the first time something weird like that has happened,” Ray said, speaking hesitantly.

“What do you mean?” Gerard asked, spinning to face him. Ray scratched at his hair awkwardly.

“There was this one night where she was messing with the lights,” he said.

“And you didn’t say anything?” Frank asked.

“No! I- I don’t know. I was making excuses, because I didn’t want to believe it.”

“Something happened with me too,” Mikey said, interjecting into the conversation. Everyone’s faces were suddenly turned towards him and he swallowed. “When we were out together, a battery shocked her. I didn’t know how it was possible, but…” He trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air. They were all kind of shocked, trying not to stare too obviously at Ruby.

“So, what’s going on then?” Frank asked. “Ruby?” He asked softly. “When did this start?”

She had slowly been crawling out from under the table, and now looked at him with her chin jutted out, her arms wrapped tightly around her small frame. “A couple weeks ago.”

“You think it’s a BLI thing?” Ray asked, turning away from the girl.

“Maybe,” Gerard said.

“Gerard, do you remember when we went to see your friends in the city?” He asked. Frank was staring intently at the floor, he had suddenly remembering something. The others looked at them wide eyed in confusion, but Gerard met his eyes and nodded. It felt like an eternity ago, but he remembered.

“Yeah, why?”

“Remember what Lindsey said about there being a girl? One that was causing a lot of talk about being thrown out?”

“Do you think-“ Gerard cut himself off with a gasp, his hand shooting up to his mouth. “You think maybe that was Ruby?” Frank nodded slowly. Gerard sunk back into his seat in shock.

“Woah, wait. What the fuck? BLI threw her out?” Mikey asked, his anger stirring. He turned to face Ruby. “Is that true?”

Ruby nodded timidly, still trying to hide in her own skin. It was clear she had a lot of trauma from that time period, and they hated to bring those memories up, but this was important. Frank swore under his breath.

“Those bastards!” Pete said, balling their fists at their sides.

“Who does that to a kid? Gerard asked, his voice dangerously low. Ruby heard his hurt and wandered closer to his sitting form. She crawled into his lap and he pressed a kiss to her hair and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay. Nothing’s wrong.”

“This has to do with that, then. They had to have known,” Frank said.

“Known what?” Mikey asked.

“I don’t know!” Frank threw his hands up. “That she has magical powers!”

Ruby whimpered and Gerard shushed her, rubbing his hand over her arm soothingly. Frank sent them an apologetic frown.

“So you’re saying she has some sort of electric… power? This is crazy,” Pete said.

“All we know is that Ruby makes electronic things freak out and that BLI probably did this to her and then dumped her into the zones. But why would they do that?” Mikey asked. Everyone was silent for a moment.

“The same reason they let the rest of us come out here,” Rays said, looking solemn. “So they can kill us. They can’t justify killing kids inside Battery City, no matter how bad we are. That wouldn’t fly and they know it. But if we leave, then all is fair game out here, where there’s no one to see it or care and it’s justified because we’re ‘rebels’. It’s the perfect ploy, really.”

Frank let his head drop into his hands, fingers digging at the root of his dark hair. This was all so fucked up, he didn’t know if he could handle any more. It wasn’t fair, how was there so much evil in the world? How were they supposed to just go about their lives when _that_ was living, no- thriving just a couple miles away.

“Well, we’re not like them,” Mikey said firmly.

“No,” Gerard said. “We’re not. But we’re going to make them pay for what they’ve done to us.” His words boiled with a calm hatred, his eyes fiery as he glanced around the room.

“I think we can all agree that no matter what, Ruby is our number one priority,” Frank said, dissolving the tense atmosphere a little. “There’s a reason BLI put her out here. They’re afraid of her.”

“We protect her with out lives,” Ray said. The same grave, pale look reflected on each of their faces as they signed their lives away to the child with her face hidden against Gerard’s chest. She was either going to save them all, or be the end of the Killjoys forever. Frank hoped desperately it would be the former.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mikey is such a himbo in this chap LMAO sorry. Please leave a comment if you like this so far I love hearing from you guys!


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